R E M E M B E R M E
by CiiCiinREX
Summary: Seven years have passed since Ib's strangely vague visit to Guertena's art exhibition. Her workplace bought a famous painting from an auction, and soon Ib finds herself in a dangerous game in a frightening world between her possessive sister and a crazed, familiar man. Garry x Ib x Mary.
1. Beginnings Start with an End

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ib or any of the character or original plot. Kouri (I believe that's how you spell his name) rightfully owns all ownership to this game. I, however, own this story idea. :)**

**WARNING:**** DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS. SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER ALERT. UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE ENDINGS TO THE GAME, I SUGGEST YOU TURN BACK NOW. THIS IS FANFICTION PEOPLE, EXPECT SPOILERS.**

Summary: Seven years have passed since Ib's strangely vague visit to Guertena's art exhibition. Her workplace bought a famous painting from an auction, and soon Ib finds herself in a dangerous game between her possessive sister and a crazed, familiar man. Crazy Garry and sister Mary. Garry x Ib x Mary.

…

1.

...

_Her heart was pounding as she soared down the dark corridors._

_Her small legs were screaming out in protest as they tried to catch up to her quick pace._

_Her initial pain and sadness and confusion were all eaten away by one emotion: fury._

"_Loves me…" A childishly feminine voice laughed as the sound echoed through the hallway._

**Don't you **_**dare. **_

"_Loves me not…" The voice continued despite of her deep desires that were so overwhelming for the little girl. And yet, while the phrase was not something to look forward to in this one game, there was still twisted joy in the voice._

_When her crimson eyes, filled with glass tears, spotted the blue flower petals on the floor in front of her, her resolve and anger were at its peak._

"_Loves me…" _

_She was speeding up the stairs, never once slowing down for her own safety._

**Don't…!**

"_Loves me not…"_

_Ib had never been so angry and desperate in her life. The thought of her so-called friend picking away the beautiful blue rose that held that man's life; it was madness in her heart. The red was all consuming, yet it was a boost. Adrenaline was pumping into her circulatory system as her heart demandingly knocked against her ribs at an unhealthy speed, but she was only focused on one thing._

_Red, red, red like her rose…_

_It was all she could see._

**I'm going to **_**KILL YOU**_**!**

"_Loves me…"_

_For a sickening moment, just as she reached the apex of the staircase, she froze. This painting girl, Mary, had weapons. Ib had nothing, and her immature body would not be able to handle the wounds the blonde-haired thing would inflict on her with her palette knives. Mary… she may be psychotic, but she was faster, taller, and probably a bit older. She wouldn't stand a chance._

"_Loves me not… Loves me…"_

_The sound of a flower being torn apart was enough for the overpowering fury to return._

_The brown-haired girl clenched her fists tightly as she made a sharp turn around the wall before rushing at Mary in the middle of the room; the sick bitch had her grimy hands on the dying flower, ripping it apart with a wide, toothy smile and an obsessed gleam in her eye._

_With strength and courage that Ib never knew she had since stepping into the Abyss, she smacked Mary who gasped in surprise for her speed and fell to the floor, clutching at her cheek. The rose stem plummeted to the carpet, briefly forgotten in the chaos._

_Ib panted, her heart pounding madly. She eyed her conniving ex-friend amidst the fallen blue petals and slowly realized just how beautiful Guertena's artwork truly was. Time seemed to pause for the brunette as she saw how the natural colors of blue and green and yellow all blurred together as Mary blinked sluggishly, just as a painting would look._

_The moment was lost._

"_I-Ib?" Mary whimpered as she cradled her cheek. Ib bristled maliciously at her reaction. Even after everything, after lying to her, after acting like they were friends and sharing those rare moments of laughter in hell only to be stabbed in the back, after trying to kill Garry, she had the audacity to sound betrayed?!_

"_Why?" The blonde-haired girl sobbed, her palette knives scattered on the floor among the ocean-blue petals. "Why did you hit me? I did all of this so we could be happy together! I-I-I… I just wanted to…!"_

_Ib stiffened in fear when Mary's eyes narrowed as she reached for a nearby knife on the non-existent floor._

_She gasped when metal clumsily clattered against the wall, ringing a harsh tune in the dark room. _

"_I JUST WANTED TO BE REAL!"_

_And Ib was stunned as the blonde-haired girl ran down a staircase and disappeared in the darkness of the Abyss. It wasn't exactly the action of her running away and not harming her that stunned her, even though it was unexpected, but the sincerity in her last words and the emotions that stirred with the proclamation._

_She mustered up her remorse once more, but underneath the smothering emotion was a hint of sadness, and… understanding._

_No! This girl… she tried to kill Garry! _

_Garry…_

_Gasping, Ib flew to the floor, her little hands grasping for the blue rose's stem. The amount of petals on the floor made her stomach twist and made her feel sick. She avoided the palette knives in disgust, not wanting to remember the girl who may be lingering around still._

_She found it. The dark green stem withered away at her touch and Ib wanted to cry at the sight of the rose. She remembered how Garry would caress the petals in the same gentle way he treated her, and it was so big and full of life. Now, only a couple petite, budding blues were attached to the tip of the stem._

_Breathing was hard for her as she rushed down the stairs where she once came from to the corner of the hallway. The brunette shakily and delicately slipped the stem away from her palms, careful not to touch them as they were holding onto the stem for dear life just as a rope was at its last thread. She placed it into the gray, clay vase on the small table as it plopped quietly into the water, muttering heartfelt and heartbreaking prayers and hopes and wishes on her pink lips. Her arms shook fearfully, and when the rose did not immediately respond to the healing particles of the water like it did every time, she cried out in submissive despair._

_He was in pain, she knew. Every time a monster hindered her and swiped away at her rose, there was an excruciating ache that never left her as the petals feel off. The pain only got worse when more fell, and it never went away until it received the needed treatment that only the water in vases gave them. Once, only once she had only one petal left that dangled by the stem and she could not begin to describe the agony she experienced; she probably couldn't even describe it with words._

_Her heart throbbed, but this time with hurt, knowing that Garry was hurt. Her eyes could not stay on the rose as it flickered down the hallway where the fallen form was laying. _

_She abandoned the vase, running down the corridor and never stopping until she saw the hunched form of Garry leaning against the wall with his eyes shut. _

"_Garry…!" She called out, kneeling in front of him and hugging his thin form. He didn't respond and Ib lifted her gaze to his face in perplexity. _

_He was sleeping, she decided. His brows were not furrowed and his teeth not clenched tightly like how it was when he was on his knees, telling her to go on. "I don't want to lie to you…" He had said with a slight grimace. "But I don't want to tell you the truth…"_

"Go ahead…"

_She clutched at his hand, her tears that were out of fear, fear of the unknown for she did not know what Garry's fate would be, were fading from the comfort of his presence. His hands were big, and as she fit her hand into his, her finger met the spaces where his began to branch off. They were warm, and she put both of his hands back on his head like he would when he would praise her for her innate skill of solving the puzzles within the Abyss or using a new word he had taught her from the descriptions of Guertena's works or the books they found in the bookshelves along their journey. _

_She reveled in the warmth and looked back up at his face. His expression did not change. He was still asleep._

"If you run into trouble… I'll come running."

"_Garry…" She called out again hesitantly, unsure if she wanted to wake the peacefully slumbering man. When he didn't respond again, she reluctantly decided to leave him. Even though she had a deep attachment to the man ever since he offered her candy to cheer her up after her nightmare in the safe room, she had an instinctive feeling that the exit was just around the corner where Mary had fled. Hopefully, though, she would not run into her again._

_She walked away, each step echoing heavily in her ears as her eyes continuously shifted behind her to the unmoving form of her gentle friend. When she rounded the corner and sprinted up the steps in anxiety and excitement, his form disappeared in the black. She hoped he would keep his word and follow after her once he woke up from his slumber._

_She followed Mary's footsteps and found herself in the darker version of the art museum she had visited in the beginning. The lining of the walls and doorways was an eerie crimson red and the walls a bleak gray. She slowly climbed up the steps, eying each corner for a probably psychotic blonde-haired painting cautiously. When she stopped, she looked up and saw that her feet had led her to the painting where she saw the message calling for her in the real world written in red paint on the metallically white ground. _

"…_World," it read, though she could not decipher the first word on the description. She frowned sadly, remembering when Garry would help her with words such as this, slowly pronouncing them for her to follow and then laughing whether she did correctly or incorrectly. Her side felt very vacuous, and she craved to hold his hand like she did when she felt scared when they would walk into a new area._

_White suddenly flashed before her eyes and she gasped, rubbing and blinking it away. When she squinted at the large painting once more, she felt like it was different somehow. The golden frame bordering the artwork had disappeared. The painting was now a portal._

"_Once you go in, there's no going back," There were more words in the painting's description after the bright flash, ones she could understand. "All your time here will be lost. Will you still jump in?"_

_All your time here will be lost._

_**All your time here will be lost.**_

_Garry… She didn't want to forget him…!_

_But, he was right behind her, like he always was! Right?_

_**Will you still jump in?**_

_Garry, he had probably panicked when he woke up in the corridor and was racing towards her right now, and soon they would be back in the real world, together._

_With that comforting thought, she leapt into the painting without further hesitation._

_Unbeknownst to her, the same girl who attempted to take Garry's life was right behind her, smiling happily as she also stepped into the painting._

_With one foot in, she looked back with a smirk. "Have fun being in my shoes, Garry. Now… she's all mine."_

_And with two people coming in and an equal amount leaving, the painting's frame reappeared, and once more, it was a regular painting._

_Ib's wishes would never come true._

…

"_Mommy!" A blonde-haired girl, someone very familiar, whined as she tugged at Ib's mother's dress hem. "What's for dinner tonight?"_

_Ib was at the top of the white staircase, tilting her head to the side as she peered down at her parents' figures near the front desk of the art museum with her sister. For some reason, she couldn't remember her time that much or even coming into it... It was all really vague and blurry._

_The nine-year old brunette slowly descended down the stairs as she listened in on the conversation. "Come, now, Mary," She heard her mom scold her sister while laughing. "Talking about dinner already?"_

_Mary made a comment before her eyes shifted over to her and Ib spotted the excited twinkle in Mary's blue eyes. "Welcome back!" Mary smiled, gently taking her hand. _

"_I found Ib, mommy!" Mary proclaimed as they arrived by the front desk._

"_My word, Ib! Where did you get to?" Their mother said in relief, patting Ib's cheek who wanted to roll her crimson eyes in exasperation. Almost peering into her subconscious, her mother's gentle look gained a harsh side as it transformed into a glare. "Your mother wanted to go see the exhibits with you…" She grumbled irately._

"_Hey, it's all right," Their father piped in optimistically. "Maybe Ib just wanted to see the exhibits by herself in peace!"_

_Ib nodded affirmatively, even though she herself wasn't quite too sure, and Mary copied her actions. _

"_Well, we should get going soon," He continued, glancing down at his black wristwatch in a concerned manner. "Mary's feeling hungry, anyway."_

"_And you mother's feeling a bit parched," She smiled, having already forgotten the play-argument she had with her biological daughter. "Let's see if we can find a café."_

_Ib perked up at the word. It wasn't unusual to visit a café since her mother loved the simple and cute drinks and snacks they offered, but for some reason she felt really excited to go to it. She felt like… like something sweet, and in the shape of something really odd—_

"Say Ib… Have you heard of macaroons? They're these candies shaped like hamburgers. And just the other day, I had one at a café, and it was sooo tasty! So, uh, if we get out of here, could we go there together?" Pause. "No, wait, we WILL be going there! And we will get out! I promise!" A big grin that sent her heart fluttering. A light pat on the head that made her feel warm and safe.

"_Ib, hear that?" Mary squeaked, jumping up and down in the museum despite her mother's soft protests. "A café! I can't wait to see what they have!"_

_Said girl snapped out of her stupor before smiling at her sister. "Yeah."_

"_Okay, let's go!" Their mother said and all four of them passed the front desk, bowing politely at the gray-haired man behind it and heading for the door. Feeling a twinge of uneasiness and sudden desperation, Ib casted a glance back at the staircase she had descended, remembering the portrait she had been staring at when she had snapped out of her trance in her visit. The one of the beautiful, sleeping man surrounded by blue roses…_

"_C'mon, Ib!" Mary ran back to pull at her wrist, whining impatiently. "Café!"_

_The brunette smiled and let her sister drag her off, but not without looking back once more._

_As the double doors opened, she could have sworn she heard her name being called._

_Ib lifted her chin and looked at Mary once more. "What?"_

"_What?" Her sister seemed more confused than her, so she denied it and said it was nothing._

_They slipped into their father's family sized gray SUV, the only man behind the window, his wife at his side in the passenger seat, and their two children sitting side by side in the back seat. Mary was humming a painfully familiar tune, and though Ib wanted to ask where she heard that song from, something held back her tongue. _

_Ib faced the retreating silhouette of the art museum with her front pressed into the leather seat to peer out of the very back window of the car. Her crimson eyes seemed to stay put on the entrance expectantly, but once the building disappeared in the rolling streets behind the sunset, she sank into her seat, filled with a heavy feeling. 'Why am I feeling this way?'_

_Sensing Mary's gaze—she always seemed to feel her uneasiness, and, as a result, was uneasy herself—the brunette child faced her and smiled reassuringly at her. "I just thought I was missing something." Mary sighed in relief and returned the smile as well._

"_The Guertena exhibition was quite something…" Their red-eyed mother commented wistfully, probably remembering the several breathtaking artifacts she saw. _

"_Yep," Their father chirped in. "I bet Ib and Mary learned a lot from it too, huh?"_

"_Yeah!" Mary said. "It was the best! Right, Ib?"_

"_Yeah," Ib replied in her usual gentle yet clipped tone. Tired, she leaned against the side of the leather seat when she heard a crinkle from her skirt pocket. Curiously, she reached in and pulled out a simple-looking candy wrapper. 'When did this get here?'_

"_Ooh, candy!" Mary suddenly chimed, her fingers greedily clenching the air as she reached for it. "Gimme!"_

"_No!" Ib screeched, yanking herself back and surprising both of their parents. Her father cussed as he nearly slammed the car on its brakes, and Mary was crying, saying that she really wanted the candy._

"_Now, now, calm down," Their stern mother commanded and Mary's sobs softened. "Mary, that's Ib's candy; let her eat it."_

_"But mom—!"_

"_No buts!" Mary's face was ridden with worry, and although usually she would feel guilty because she always felt obliged to make her sister happy, Ib felt strangely satisfied. _

_The crimson-eyed child pulled both sides of the wrapper and watched as it unraveled to show a yellow sphere. She peered down at the candy piece, wondering why she felt so nostalgic before popping it into her mouth. _

"Hey, Ib, why don't you look in the pocket of that coat? …That's a piece of lemon candy. Feel free to eat it anytime you want!"

_Feeling deeper into her pocket, she felt something smooth and cold. She didn't pull it out in case her pouting sister would theatrically raise her voice in some form of protest. At the top there was a circle with rough edges that circulated when he finger pressed it up and down. There was a button at the bottom of circle, and feeling that, she pulled away as if she had been burned._

_It was lucky she did, because if she kept playing with the thing, she probably would have literally burned herself. Or, more accurately, set herself on fire._

_It was a lighter, she remembered seeing the things in convenience stores and gas stations. When she had asked her father what it was used for, apparently it was an alternative light source from flashlights. And for the oddest reason, she really doubted that claim. _

"_Hey, Ib," She peered at her sister who had stopped her sulking to inquire her curiously. "What do you want to play when you get home?"_

_She shrugged, thinking about it for a few seconds. "I don't know, anything's fine with me. Maybe house, or tic tac toe, or Cops and Robbers?"_

_Mary shivered. 'Weird,' Ib thought. It was really warm in the car, and it wasn't even fall yet. _

_The blonde-haired girl smiled. "I'm getting excited just thinking about it!"_

_Ib sighed. What an eccentric sister she had._

"_Ib, can you promise me that from now on we will always be together?" Ib tilted her head at her sister in question, and seeing the insecurity in her sister's orbs, she smiled and held out her pinky finger. _

_Mary beamed as she stuck out her own and they both intertwined._

"_I promise."_

…

_If Ib had stayed back with Garry for a few more moments, she would have noticed how the rose twitched and its small petals bloomed bigger, and more and more filled in the top of the stem. If she had snuggled into his form just a little bit longer, if she had caressed his warm hands for a few more minutes, if she had stayed to call out his name or talk to his unmoving form…_

_Groaning, eyelids fluttered as he woke from his "slumber", ruffling his white-lavender hair. His vision was a blur of indistinguishable forms before it focused. "I'm alive," He breathed out, touching his face constantly, hoping it wasn't a dream. _

_Finding his rose in the vase, he held it as if it were his treasure. _

"_Ib!" He called out, running up the stairs, only to be greeted with a messy room filled with petals and knives. "Ib!"_

_He must have circled around the place, his fear growing, his desperation overwhelming, and his despair kicking in when realization set in._

_He was alive._

_He was alive._

_He was _**alone.**

…

Correct me if I'm wrong, but, I know there's this rule in the Abyss where only the same amount of people who enter can also leave. Meaning, Garry and Ib came in, so only two people can leave. And the portal shut because Mary took Garry's spot. Does it matter if Garry is alive or not? I thought I saw something like "someone has to die in the end, no matter what" so I kind of assumed that a person has to die for Mary to leave. If that's the case, I'll be breaking the rules for a good fandom reason. ;P

Anyway, what do you guys think? After a day of looking at Pewdiepie play the game, and then going to watch his friend Cry play the game to the end, I fell in love with this game. And, to be honest, the "Promise of Reunion/Return" was the happiest ending, even though it doesn't end so happy in my books, and the "Forgotten Portrait" was the saddest one for Ib's part. "Ib All Alone" with Ib walking away with her fake mom and Garry calling out to her for his part. Ugh, I get shivers thinking about it. I LOVE the game's story plot! :)

I probably won't be checking in anytime soon (technically, I have other matters to attend to with my stories (I'M VERY AWARE :I), and admittedly, a very late editing as a beta reader for an author (if you're reading this right now, PM and let out all the anger you can so I can actually push myself to get to doing that! LET IT ALL OUT :()) but I probably won't even get to get to those any time soon because of my stupid Advanced Placement summer homework assignments. I finished everything except for my Current Events project. I'll hopefully be working on it all day tomorrow once I don't feel too lazy, lol. Procrastinating…

Also! I know in the summary it says "Garry x IB x MARY". I'm wondering right now if Ib's and Mary's relationship should be a possessive sister relationship or a forbidden one-sided, maybe even two-sided, relationship. While having a forbidden relationship between sisters IS sickening, technically, Mary isn't her real sister or related to her in any way, and it WOULD make the story interesting… I've never really written about lesbian relationships, though… Tell me what you guys think!

Anyway, leave a review if you loved it! And for me, it doesn't matter the amount of reviews I get as long as you say something that will help me or makes me feel as if you really support this story.

I'll be back… soon.

_~CiiCiinREX._


	2. Like Every Other Day

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ib or any of the character or original plot. Kouri (I believe that's how you spell his name) rightfully owns all ownership to this game. I, however, own this story idea. :)**

**WARNING: DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS. SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER ALERT. UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE ENDINGS TO THE GAME, I SUGGEST YOU TURN BACK NOW. THIS IS FANFICTION PEOPLE, EXPECT SPOILERS.**

**Does contain a few OCs for the story to progress. I don't think the story would work if the only characters we knew were Garry, Mary, Ib and her parents, lol. Don't worry, they don't have major roles in the story, but they do contribute something to the plot.**

**This chapter is a filler for the most part, but the conversation holds a lot of the backstory between Ib and Mary! The action will be starting in just a couple chapters.**

Summary: Seven years have passed since Ib's strangely vague visit to Guertena's art exhibition. Her workplace bought a famous painting from an auction, and soon Ib finds herself in a dangerous game between her possessive sister and a crazed, familiar man. Crazy Garry and sister Mary. Garry x Ib x Mary.

…

2.

...

_He exhaled, feeling the smooth, dark floors. He still leaned against the wall on the spot where he had awoken after hours of a frantic search for the small girl he had grown attached to in less than one day._

_Garry recalled how the Lady in Blue had managed to sneak up from behind him as he walked through the corridors in the red rooms and tripped him to take his rose. She had crawled away at an insane speed with an equally insane laugh, and soon enough she had fled too far and pain rang throughout his body. In her secluded room, she too smiled as she ripped away the petals, singing the song that every woman loved to sing, played the game every girl loved to play._

"_He loves me, he loves me not…"_

_And then, his savior came in the form of a little girl. _

_He had been writhing on the floor like he had been when Mary ran off with the same blue rose, hanging onto the last threads of his life. She tried calling out to him, but through the haze he could only groan and curl into a ball. She massaged his shoulders, but he pleaded her to stop when the ache fluctuated in his body._

_And then she had ran. _

_When he really came to, Garry felt the pain disintegrate in the air and his pain wash away, almost as if it had never happened. Sluggishly blinking, he had lifted his chin to see a very small girl hold out his rose towards him._

_Sighing, he rubbed his cheeks. Knowing that Ib was not in this world was enough for him to miss her already._

_He had been exuberated at first, believing that the way home was open now. He had searched all over the doppelganger of the museum and found a large painting called "Fabricated World"._

'_I wonder if Ib knew this word,' he couldn't help but think to himself._

_The description held encouraging words, telling him that this really WAS the way back to the real world, even asking him, "Will you still jump in?" However, when he went to reach out to the portrait, the tips of his fingers met the rough surface of the canvas covered in smooth paint. _

_He remembered panicking, calling out, pleading the painting, screaming and clawing at it. Still, it did not grant him passage, and Garry realized why._

_Mary… She wasn't here._

"_No…" He breathed out. "She couldn't have…!"_

_Unfortunately for him, she did, he chuckled humorlessly from his spot on the wall. A grim smile pulled at his lips, wondering how he would survive in this world for who knows long when he nearly died twice in less than twenty-four hours. He rubbed his hands together, feeling oddly warm at the touch. _

_He wondered how Ib must be in the real world, happy to be with her mother, and, judging by the words in the description of the Fabricated World, had forgotten about him. The thought had his grey eyes welling up in tears, his throat tightening up with emotion. _

_When he composed himself, he decided to see what had silenced the several monster artworks—headless women, mannequin heads, and disturbing dolls—because, if he could recall correctly, they had still been cackling and repeating their mantras outside when he had collapsed in front of Ib. Reluctantly, he stood and, gently stuffing his rose into the deepest recesses of his pockets, took one careful step at a time._

_He descended the staircase where the two big dolls had stood guard before Mary appeared and stole Ib's rose, surprised to see that the toybox was empty of everything but the enlarged, childish drawings on the floors and walls; even the two guards were gone. He sighed, wondering if he should be glad that nothing would attempt to kill him or even more devastated that he couldn't even see anything else move to prove that another living being was stuck in this Abyss with him. He fingered the torn ends of his coat, grinning slightly when he remembered how Ib asked why his coat was torn, and he in turn said it was the clothing style. It was funny, really, how the small girl seemed to pop more into his thoughts than the life he had been living before his visit to the Guertena exhibition._

_Feeling a thump on his foot, he glanced down to see a blue doll, or more specifically, the same one that had followed him when he was first separated from Mary and Ib. Screaming quite loudly and femininely, he jumped and brought his arms up._

_He froze when the doll's fingerless arm lifted to its strangely frowning face. When it pointed to the black floor, he read the purple inscribed message._

"_Please don't fear us."_

"_Why shouldn't I?" He shouted at the small thing. "All the things you've done to Ib and me, after trying to kill me in that room and helping Mary, why should I trust you?!"_

_He panted and felt more frustrated when he analyzed the situation, face-palming himself. He was talking to a _doll. _Perhaps it would be normal in the Abyss since these things did come to life seemingly out of nowhere, but it definitely wasn't good for his mental health._

_Letting his hand slip down his face, he saw a new message written alongside the old one._

"_Please hear us out."_

_Garry didn't have time to reply when the room began to shake, the rumbles nearly tripping him on his own two feet. He paled when he saw familiar blue hands slip from the entrance, the ceiling, and a large figure forming. It landed with a large explosion of a landing before straightening itself. Staring into its red-yellow eyes and seeing its large smile, he did the only thing any normal person would at this point._

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

_The thing flinched when Garry pivoted his feet and fled in the opposite direction. Before he could make it to the apex of the staircase, a large, blue arm blocked his way. Gulping, he slowly turned to face the humongous doll-beast._

_It didn't move when Garry's face blended into a pure white, his shaking lips forming words he could not utter. _

"_**Please listen to me**__," A surprisingly delicate, boyish voice came from the cloth lips of the doll. "__**I promise my friends and I will not hurt you**__."_

_At the word "friends", Garry's light grey eyes nervously circled the room to spot all of the enemies he had unluckily stumbled upon since his visit. The headless statues with their dresses, the mannequin heads, the three lady portraits, the dolls…_

_He mistrustfully sent a glare at the leader of the pack, gratefully stepping back to increase the distance between the two. However, he did stay. Whatever this thing had to say would probably be interesting since all it and its friends ever did was attack and never really talk unless it was in an outright creepy and dangerous way. "Then, talk," He waved and it, his limbs coiled. If he saw one wrong move, he would run._

_The doll sighed and smiled at him thankfully, but Garry shivered. No matter what, it still looked creepy. _

_Garry had found himself unraveling his tense body, though he did glance behind the thing from time to time to keep an eye on its friends. He definitely had not expected a big welcoming party and wasn't sure what to make of it, but it did fill in a few gaps and they did seem sincere. _

"_What do you want?" Garry asked snappily, wanting to get to the point._

_It hesitated before answering. "__**We're sad that Mary's already gone… and we…we were hoping… you would become our friend.**__"_

_Garry clenched his jaw, not knowing what to say._

…

"Raise."

Chair legs scraped against the tiled floor.

"Dismissed."

"Woooooo!" A dirty blonde-haired teen cheered as the bell rang, his supplies all gathered and ready for him to leave. He grinned in excitement, but he did not join the other students rushing out of the door. Instead, he walked towards the back of the room and stopped near a brunette girl's desk. "Ib, c'monnn," The boy whined, doing a small, impatient dance. "You're such a slowpoke!"

Said girl sent the boy a pointed look before pooling her books together neatly. "Hey, some people actually take the time to make sure their things are neat, unlike those who rush and are sloppy."

The blonde-haired boy glared back at her, huffing. "Does it even matter?" He grumbled under his breath. Ib giggled, a smile twitched at her lips as she smacked his arm. He proceeded to look even more offended, rubbing at his exposed flesh in a mocking matter.

They left it at that, leaving their last class of the day after bowing to their sensei, and entered the busy and full hallways of their school. "Do you have work after?" He shouted over the loud screams and chatter of the other students. She watched as a large jock bumped his belly against his friend's, both laughing jovially.

"Yeah," She answered back just as loudly as they pushed their way through the crowds of teens to her locker. "Why?"

He pursed his lips into a pout. "I wanted to hang out! It's been a while since we actually hung out together."

"Maybe tomorrow," She suggested when they arrived at her thin, locker as she played with her lock. "My boss said that I've been working a lot lately and doesn't want to take away my homework time."

"Fair enough," He accepted happily, playing with the strings attached to his healthy grass-green hoodie while he waited. "Would Mary want to come?"

The crimson-eyed girl snorted and opened her locker before yanking out a few books and stuffing it into her simple, dark blue book bag. "We all know she can't live without me," Ib smirked playfully.

Her friend snickered behind her lightheartedly. "I know right? Every time we're together, I always see her following you like a lost puppy…" He paused and dropped his mischievous manner to adopt a small, fond smile. "Though… She really loves you, Ib. You're the only one that she actually opens up to; with me she won't even tell me how her day was! All she does is insult me…"

Ib smiled too, but it was wiped off her face when she remembered her mother's words from the previous night. "Well, she can't hang off of me forever… Soon, I'll be attending college and Mary is going to have to stay here. She needs to find friends other than you and me."

"Ah, that's true," The light-eyed boy nodded sullenly when the corner of his lips twitched upwards. "Then, when Mary's out of the way…" He snuck an arm around her neck after she slammed her locker door shut, her crimson eyes darting up to his face. "I'll have you all to myself!" He laughed maniacally.

Ib rolled her eyes, hitting him lightly on the stomach. "C'mon, Koudai," She urged her friend, quickly changing the subject. "She's probably waiting for us at her school."

As they strolled out of the school's main entrance with teens screaming around them and Ib's eyes on Koudai's pale face as he continued to ramble about this and that, her feet led her to her wanted destination but on the journey her mind wandered off.

She thought back to how Mary, even as a seven-year old and now a fourteen-year old, would always cling to her for the smallest things. No matter what she did, Mary would be around the corner asking her, "What are you doing? Can I help?" When she was sketching, her little sister would be at her side, her blue eyes so wide they were bulging and her mouth gaping in exaggerated curiosity and awe to form a perfect circle. They were always together, not that Ib was complaining. She absolutely adored her little sister, even though she may prove to be an annoyance here and there. They had their little fights, which in the end the elder sister ended up winning every time because Mary would burst into her room crying, saying she wanted them to make up as the tension and knowing Ib was mad at her was too much for her. Those spats never lasted, and before they knew it, they were back to their regular routine once more.

Her mother once never did talk to Ib about Mary's serious attachment. A few years ago, she would say, "Awww, that's so adorable!" or take out her camera and tell them "Say Cheese!" However, just last night she had addressed the issue with her daughter.

"You and Mary are getting much older," She had said. "Mary is very attached to you, but in two years you're going to college in America! I'm afraid that… you have to tell her about this and make sure she doesn't get too close when you leave. If it continues like this, she'll be devastated before the plane even takes off!"

Mary couldn't live one day without her, so how would her family expect Mary to live eight years in her absence? Ib knew what her mother said was very true; by the time Mary was back after seeing her off at the airport, she would be crying out all her tears in a bucket. Phone calls and mailing was expensive when sent overseas and their family was already having enough troubles. The brunette couldn't bear to add another burden on her parents' shoulders.

At Mary's school, the blonde-haired girl wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawers. She had always had the hardest times grasping concepts in English, Math, History and Science. When she approached her older sister whom was one of the top students at her high school, she chatted about the subjects as if they were completely foreign words and had difficulty in pronouncing a few scientific terms. Ib helped her with what she could, but the motivation of being just like her sister was enough for Mary to work hard in her studies, even if she wasn't very smart.

Where the blonde lacked in smarts, it seemed that her looks filled in the gaps. Several times Ib would walk in her school grounds, hearing her little sister's name uttered positively in the kids' loud whispers. Mary would be sitting under the large oak tree in front of the medium-sized elementary school, looking so disinterested with the chatty group of kids surrounding her. Boys, apparently, were smitten with her. Once, a brave one approached Ib, asked if she was Mary's sister, then proceeded to dive into a conversation that was wrapped tightly around the blue-eyed beauty. When Mary saw him talking to her sister, however, she was raving mad and scared the boy off, which in turn resulted in a heated scolding from Ib. But then Mary wrapped her arms around her arm, crying "I didn't like the way he was looking at you!" Ib reluctantly dropped the fight but was perplexed because all she saw in that young boy's wide eyes was an excited gleam and trustful look.

Mary was always unreasonably possessive, Ib mused with a deep frown. It was the second problem her mother brought up. If her little sister saw Ib locked into a discussion, the blonde-haired girl threw a fit one way or another. Ib remembered when she tried to introduce Koudai to Mary and was angered by the audacity of her little sister. She ignored the boy and even her sister when he knelt down to her level and asked her about herself. Mary called him a bunch of names, one of which was "big-eyed freak".

Ib was glad that Koudai was a hardheaded guy sometimes. He was never deterred by her dismissive attitude, and since that fateful meeting he arrived at Mary's school alongside Ib every day to try to worm himself into her heart somehow. It's been six months after that day, but Mary seemed to be starting to crack. Though… her insults did manage to rile him up from time to time.

The crimson-eyed girl snapped out of her trance when Koudai asked, "Any new drawings?"

Ib lit up as if his words were her switch. "Yeah," She beamed. "It's one of a boy and a girl walking together in the rain under a red umbrella. I made it so everything looks dark except for the color of the umbrella."

His eyes trailed up to the clear skies with a haze. "It sounds really interesting!" His dark pupils dilated as he submerged him in his imagination, trying to form a picture in his mind. "When you make your anime, you _have _to tell me. I want to be the first one you tell; not even Mary should know before me!" He demanded, waving his pointer finger in front of her face.

She giggled, her red shoes scraping against the white concrete lightly. Their high school disappeared behind them, the school grounds ending when the black fence stopped. Just a few streets forward they stopped a dark brick building in the middle of a large field. In the distance, Ib could hear the bell ringing and the shrill laughter of the children.

If the brunette had to estimate the roots of her hobby and innate skill, she would have to say that she wanted to be an artist since that visit to the Guertena Exhibition at the local art museum. Though her memory was fuzzy, she remembered a twisting rose sculpture named _Embodiment of the Spirit, _the biggest painting called _Fabricated World, _and there was one of a beautiful man whose image and name seemed to flee from Ib's memory. Usual artists' works were boring for Ib because they were far too abstract or colorless for her to take interest in. However, Guertena was a whole different story. His art each had a simple structure that a person could instantly name, like the cat hiding in _Your Dark Figure, _and holding the aspects of a deeper meaning while seeming so simple at the same time. It was a shame most of his works had been sold or claimed by other museums since the exhibition, Ib thought ruefully. She wanted to look at his works in person again, this time with an appreciative mind that could absorb more information than her nine-year old mind could.

When she talked about it with Koudai, however, he would apologize for his indifference. The dirty blonde was never an artsy guy in the form of painting or drawing; his talent was hidden in his guitar and piano. Mary would always yell at her when she mentioned Guertena, inquiring why she was so involved in old scribbles. The only person she could tell it about would be her mother who felt the same inspiration from the visit.

Luckily, her interest and excellent artistic talent had caught the very eyes of Guertena's descendent. He himself held several of the painter's works, and having a high degree in the Arts, he offered to teach her his techniques and show her other famous artists' works in a four-year tour. It was the equivalent of going to a university for art, only more adventurous, engaging, and better. She smiled enthusiastically. She couldn't wait until she was in college…!

"IB!"

"WHAT?" The girl screamed in panic from the loud shout and earned a hysterical laugh from a teary Koudai. This time when she elbowed him she didn't hold back her strength. "WHY YOU SCARE ME?" She glared heatedly at him as he clutched his sore stomach, still chuckling under his breath.

"Gomen, gomen," He waved his hands in front of her. "You just spaced out and I couldn't resist."

Growling, she turned away from him to see the elementary school towering over her form. "We're here," She declared in confusion.

"Yeah," He said, fanning himself slightly. "We've been here for while."

"Mary!" Ib hollered from the school entrance over to the oak tree. There the girl was sitting on her knees like every other day, her gaze unfocused as she stared through the kids chattering in front of her. Her peach face snapped up when she heard the familiar voice call out her name and ran to her sister with a big grin, ignoring the farewells her classmates shouted to her.

"Ib-onee-chan!" Mary latched herself onto her bare arm, peering straight into her eyes. "You came!"

It was weird how Mary was about the same height as her know, she thought. She was so used to her being half a head shorter than her at the minimum with her childish behavior and what now.

"I came too!" Koudai proclaimed loudly, wiggling his brows at Mary.

Mary didn't seem too pleased and her form didn't falter. "What are you doing here, airhead?"

"I always come here everyday!" Koudai whined, letting her words get to him. "And I'm not an airhead!"

"Then what's in your head? I doubt your brain is big enough to fill that big skull of yours."

Ib huffed and crossed her arms, tuning them out. They could be real childish sometimes, but at least Mary was socializing. Maybe when she brought up the subject of her leaving for college in a couple years, she would open up to some of her classmates…

She wouldn't be stupid enough to try to convince her and their parents to make her stay… right?

The brunette glanced back, feeling a bit uneasy and confused.

"Ib?" Koudai called out to her, patting her shoulder. "Ib? Aren't we going to go to drop Mary off?" She felt her little sister squeeze her hand worriedly.

Ib faced them both, smiling. "Yeah, I just thought I saw a cat."

As the two buffoons bickered in front of her as they made their way to her house, she turned and gazed at the tree behind them.

She could have sworn she heard her name being called…

…

_A man sipped on the curved edge of the small cup, sighing contently as the tableware clattered when he placed it back on a just as small plate. The tips of his pale fingers stroked the golden lining of the plate, his thin lips parting slightly. He watched as the sepia liquid in the teacup rippled from the center and settle down gently. _

"_Thank you for the party, Benny," He thanked the large doll that smiled down at him. "It's quite pleasant, if I do say so myself."_

_He turned to a headless woman wearing a flowing, blue dress who was bowing down to his sitting level. "What was that, Elisa?" He beamed. "More tea? No, I couldn't! Benny has a whole table of sweets waiting to be served! Thank you for the offer, though. Ask Maddy, though," He added, peering down at a small doll sitting at the table with others surrounding it. "She looks like she's about to run out!"_

_The man turned to Benny when he heard his name being called and smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, Benny. Just feeling a little lonely…" He trailed off, staring at the empty chair near him at the front of the table._

"_I'm sure we'll find her soon, Benny, my dear friend," He had another sip, greedily downing the liquid. His pink tongue peeked out of his mouth to rub his flavored lips._

_Laughing, he set the cup down once more as he felt his friends' eyes all fall on his form._

"_Ib, Ib, Ib…_

_Where are you, my Ib?"_

…

Well, how was that? I hope it was to your guys' liking!

With the first scene, at first I put the large doll (the one that pops out of the picture in the doll room at the scariest scene) actually talking in full paragraphs about Mary's life. Then, when I came back from drum practice, I thought, 'That's so dumb!' Why would a doll that tried to kill him in the first place now talk to him, and IN FULL PARAGRAPHS? LOL. So I ended up leaving the last sentence there, but you'll probably see the gap where it does talk, lol…

Ugh, I tried working on the project, but I was home alone, and today I learned something new! If I'm alone at home, I feel so stir-crazy from the lack of human contact and the silence. My dog and birds did NOT help, lol. It also didn't help that my friends were all busy today so I had no one to talk to except my good friend Chocola ;) Love ya girl! (I'm gonna kill you if you skip over this note, I swear, lol.) Once my mom and brother came back I felt ten times better, but I had a headache from all the stress that appeared from thin air so it didn't really work out. -_-

I've thought about the "Ib x Mary" relationship and decided that I'll go with my gut as I write on with the story, but if you guys have any thoughts on it—if it should be a one-sided, two-sided, forbidden relationship or just a possessive sister relationship—please tell me in a review!

And yes, the "WHY YOU SCARE ME?" was intentional. I don't care if the grammar is wrong; I tried to develop a strong friendship between Ib and Koudai, lol.

Sorry if you don't like OCs; most of them won't have too important roles like Garry and Mary.

Just a reminder, the number of reviews has ceased to matter to me. As long as you show your support and try to make a conversation with me or help me with my writing, I'll be happy!

Please tell me what you guys think!

Until then, I'll be back, probably very soon.

_~CiiCiinREX._


	3. The Forgotten Portrait

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ib or any of the character or original plot. Kouri (I believe that's how you spell his name) rightfully owns all ownership to this game. I, however, own this story idea. :)**

**WARNING: DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS. SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER ALERT. UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE ENDINGS TO THE GAME, I SUGGEST YOU TURN BACK NOW. THIS IS FANFICTION PEOPLE, EXPECT SPOILERS.**

**Does contain a few OCs for the story to progress. I don't think the story would work if the only characters we knew were Garry, Mary, Ib and her parents, lol. Don't worry, they don't have major roles in the story, but they do contribute something to the plot.**

**This chapter is ANOTHER filler for the most part! LOL. Sorry guys, but I don't want to just jump into the action without explaining things. It's like **_The Hunger Games' _**first section of the first book, but hopefully it won't be too boring. The action will be starting very soon!**

**BY THE WAY… In the game, it says that Garry talks like a lady (in Japanese, using the feminine word 'atashi' when talking about himself) and I've never really seen his shoes, but in a few videos they had heels… Is the maker implying that he's gay? O.o; I honestly have no idea, but it seems either or at this point…**

Anyone watch Pewdie's ending video and be like "NOOOO PEWDIE, THAT'S NOT THE REAL GARRY!"? XD He just kept cheering, didn't even read the "Ib: Ib All Alone" and said "We got the best ending ever!" -_- I love you bromaster, but that was a big fail LOL.

Summary: Seven years have passed since Ib's strangely vague visit to Guertena's art exhibition. Her workplace bought a famous painting from an auction, and soon Ib finds herself in a dangerous game between her possessive sister and a crazed, familiar man. Crazy Garry and sister Mary. Garry x Ib x Mary.

…

3.

...

_He avoided them for a few days—he thinks, anyway. In this realm, time stops. His wristwatch froze the moment he walked in, and every time he glanced down to check the time, it disoriented him. Is it night? Or day? Are people awake at this time? Is there even a time to rest in this world?_

_He ran away from the Toybox to the safe room, the only place in the Abyss where he actually felt a little more comfortable than per usual. His fingers graze over the worn leather of the books, reveling in the only familiar feel of the soft paper crinkling under his palms, the small black font popping out from the beige pages. He read a lot during this free time he felt he never had the chance to passage during his stay in the Abyss. Some of the stories were normal genres that Garry would believe would have been popular in the real world if they had been published to the public. Others were very morbid, and he would find himself questioning his sanity as he absorbed every word the book had to offer. There was a fairytale story about a kidnapped prince and a loudmouth princess, one about the bond between a little girl and her loyal dog, another about a man who killed and stuffed his friends and family because of his aching fear of abandonment, and even one about how a lunatic assassin roamed a town and caroused in his killings, each paragraph explicitly explaining his knowledge of the anatomy of the human and describing how he cut through their limbs or watched his victim convulse on the floor in rapture. Garry even found the adult book Ib had managed to stumble upon during his visits to the rooms filled with bookcases, and, though he would not admit, he kept it stuffed in his pockets. It was probably the only book that kept his interests and age mindset, unlike the childish books and the horribly graphic ones. Though, it was a bit raunchy for his tastes…_

_The room was a safe haven for the man. Before he came to the room, he was able to stuff a few books from the other rooms and put them there. Now, when he felt that he read over the books too many times, he would sneak over to another room and smuggle back a few untitled books. Ever since Ib and Mary left, the hallways had been eerily empty and silent. He didn't even see a single painting other than those of food hung on the long, forest green walls. _

_Well, the paintings that did stay didn't exactly help. Soon after his fifth finished book, his stomach began to rumble uncontrollably, making him groan. He wasn't sure if food did exist in this realm because, obviously, how would headless statues, dolls with stitched mouths and mannequin heads without stomachs eat real food? They were probably immortal… He attempted to shake off the hunger. He would probably die starving down there, but it would probably be best to stay in the room for now. Food probably didn't even exist down here…_

_By his seventeenth book, he couldn't handle the ache in his stomach. It was roaring by then, quite angrily. To alleviate the pain, he laid on the floor between the rows of bookshelves in the fetal position and leading his thoughts to a place away from food and monsters and roses. His hunger was clawing at the bottom of his stomach, eliciting a strangled moan. _

_As the momentary throbbing faded, he brushed the thin carpet underneath him and brought his coat closer to his body. He remembered how he watched over Ib in this room and quietly threw his coat over her, laughing when he realized when her body wasn't even half the length of his tattered coat. He wondered if this was how warm she felt on the cushioned floor with a sheltering cloth wrapped around every inch of her tiny body. He questioned the logic of this realm, where time stopped but you still grew and had bodily needs, muffling his sigh in his sleeve._

_The ache persisted because, as a still-growing boy, he often stuffed his face in with twenty sushi until he was quite content before moving on to a large dessert. Once he was famished, he was at his fridge door, scooping up this and that for his lunch. Now, his stomach was impatient._

'_Just bear with it,' Garry thought, losing all hope for his survival. His eyelids fluttered in the dim lighting of the room as the urge to sleep grabbed a strict hold of him. 'It'll end soon enough…'_

_BAM!_

_He jumped into the air from fright of the loud sound, but he did not scream like he thought he would. His energy was more than drained at this point and his primal instincts were kicking in from the threat of starvation. _

_The sound did not repeat itself like it did when he and Ib were stuck in the Resting Room while the monsters broke in one by one. Instead the bang echoed in the empty hallways from behind the door. When it was silent for a few more moments as Garry waited from his spot on the floor, he finally stood up cautiously and made his way over to the mahogany door. _

_He twisted the silver doorknob slowly and paused when he heard a click. Silence the only response to his hesitation, he opened the door only a crack and took a sneaky peek outside. _

_Left. Right. Nothing of interest, merely empty walls._

_Then he looked down, jerking in surprise when he saw the familiar, small doll on the floor near a plate. A delicious scent whipped past his nostrils, making his mouth flood with saliva and his stomach demanding he grab the plate now. It was spaghetti with marinara sauce, just like the ones that they sold at the small corner restaurants. A neatly folded, maroon napkin lay next to the plate with a shiny fork lying on top of it. _

'_Please enjoy the food,' The message was scrawled on the floor in purple paint. _

_Garry was reluctant as he froze, though his stomach protested quite loudly. Should he trust these things? What if it was a trap?_

'_But… wouldn't that contradict their words?' he suddenly pondered. 'They did not chase after me when I ran, and I haven't seen them for a while…'_

_Inhaling sharply, he slipped his foot the crack and rotated his heel. The door, thankfully, did not squeak or groan like he believed it would. With his long legs, he kept his foot on the corner of the door and leaned forward, coming close enough to pick up the plate and napkin by the front. Glancing around and spotting nothing, he slowly pulled back._

_He gasped when he felt something brushed against his left arm and held in a squeal. Peering down, he realized that he had knocked down the doll in the process._

_At first, he just stared down at the blue-skinned thing. Then, even if he was averse to the thought, he placed his napkin and fork down and slipped his fingers under the doll's sunken side. With one motion, he was able to right the tipping doll. He backed back into the door when the doll was sitting perfectly straight._

_He closed the door behind him and slid down the smooth surface. His hands snatched the fork up as he stuffed his face in with thick noodles, his taste buds exploding in an array of flavors. Groaning, he barely even swallowed his first bite when he shoved another forkful in his mouth._

_Before he knew it, the plate was empty of all but tomato sauce splatters. The lavender-haired man wiped his mouth roughly with the soft cloth of the napkin._

_Nope, no poison, he deduced from the way a warm hum revolved around his body and his stomach murmured, content and full. And they hadn't ambushed him during that small instance of vulnerability. _

_As the cloth fell on the messy plate in front of him, he sighed and hoped he wouldn't regret his decision._

"_I… I guess I could trust them just this once…"_

…

"…and then, I say to the guy, 'Why don't you lettuce play?'" Koudai chortled at his own joke, wheezing. "Get it?! He was selling vegetables and I said lettuce!"

Ib sighed. Mary grunted, sneering at the older teen. "Your lack of intelligence amazes me."

"You're one to talk!" He shouted indignantly. "You can't tell the difference between meiosis and mitosis!"

"They sound the same!" The blonde-haired beauty screeched back, waving her arms around dangerously.

"You wouldn't say that if you were the smartest of your class like your sister! …And what does humor have to do with being smart?!"

The brunette shook her head, wondering just why she believed introducing her high school friend to her sister was a good idea; they were both loud mouths, her sister proved herself to be anti-social and mean, and Koudai was easily offended. While their banter progressed, she glanced down at her watch and gasped. "Fu—erm, crap!"

She whirled around to the questioning dirty blonde. "Koudai, could you do me a favor and walk Mary the rest of the way home? I'm late for work!"

He smiled, knowing how anal she was with her punctuality and job, and sent her a mock salute. "Roger!"

"Sorry, Mary," Ib sincerely apologized to her sister. "You know how important this job is to me."

The blonde-haired girl furrowed her brows and opened her mouth, almost as if she were about to object but then paused and snapped her jaws shut. She smiled understandingly. "Okay, but next time, don't leave me with this idiot. At least make sure I'm alone."

"Yeah," The brunette uttered absentmindedly as she rushed forward of the two. "Bye guys!"

…

Ib made quite an entrance at her workplace. While a young, brown-haired man dressed in a sleek, grey suit blew over the warm steam of his coffee singing "tanoshii" quietly, he almost threw his full cup at her when the double doors slammed open. "Kuso!" He swore under his breath, swiftly taking his handkerchief and patting at his expensive clothing.

He lifted his chin to glare at the object of his blame when the man opted to just state at her, stunned. Then he erupted into laughter as she panted heavily, hoping to smother him with her heated gaze.

"Well, you look worse for wear," The man commented, gesturing at her ruffled skirt, rumpled dress shirt, dilated crimson eyes and her wind-raped hair. "Were you running away from a psycho?"

Ib growled, composing herself when the double doors closed behind her. "No," she exhaled. She denied it, but she might as well have confirmed it. She was so scared of losing her job that she flew through the sidewalks and streets like the devil was nipping at her heels.

She eyed the large stain on his suit contemptuously. "Laundry problem, sir?"

"What, this? Oh, no," He chuckled, waving her off from his spot as he reached for some handy paper towels lying in his desk drawers for emergencies such as these. "You're entrance did startle me, but this is just a suit. I have several more."

'_Rich prick,' _she playfully thought, thankfully in her mind. Ib was just glad that he was able to forgive her so quickly since most of the employees here were well off and knew very well how to hold a grudge. "No hard feelings?" She asked, unsure.

"Yeah, kiddo," He flashed a straight, white smile at her as he leaned back in his chair, his stained suit thrown to the side somewhere. Now his white polo and red tie were the only things that covered his torso. As he inclined his chair, he crossed his legs, showing off his smooth black pants and expensive-looking dress shoes. "Anyway, the boss is off picking up something he bought for the company, so you didn't need to rush here. He probably would have forgiven you the moment he saw you, anyway."

Ib sent him a withering glance, wondering if the man treated all of the clients and employees in the building this way.

"Don't give me that look, Ib," He frowned at her, sitting up in his seat. "I feel like you're scolding me like I'm the child."

The brunette didn't respond, looking over her shoulder at the unmoving doors. The uneasy feeling had reappeared, and it felt like whatever was bothering her was right behind her and closer than ever.

"_Don't give me that look, Ib…" _Where had she heard those exact words?

The man seemed put off at her ignoring him, but he shut his mouth when the two heard voices murmuring behind the doors, the sound getting closer and closer to her.

"—Be careful now, we don't want the merchandise breaking before it's arrived!" She heard her boss holler before the doors nearly slammed open, eliciting another not-so-nice word from her colleague.

"Hotaru-san!" Ib greeted but with shock. It was admittedly an unnerving sight, seeing your already burly enough boss with two tall, muscular men wearing sleeveless shirts right in back of him.

Her middle-aged boss brightened up at the sight of her. "Ohoho, if it isn't Ib? You're early, aren't you?"

She could feel the suit-less man boring holes into her back, as if saying, 'I told you so'.

Hotaru sighed. "Young people these days, always in a rush and so hard-working… You should take a break from work every once in a while! You always work over time, even if I don't ask you to!"

His voice suddenly turned stern when he stopped the man at the front desk. "Sato-san, why are you out of uniform? Please stop fooling around and start working!"

Ib ignored Sato's cry of 'why me?' as she curiously stared at the rectangular object shrouded in a beige blanket held equally by the two men didn't seem to mind at Hotaru's yelling as they entered the company building. "What's that?"

Hotaru seemed pleased at her interest and gestured her and the two moving men to follow him down the reception hall. Ib trailed the three, confused. They kept moving until they came to a halt at the elevators. The middle-aged man punched in Floor 3, the one in which she worked most of her time, and they didn't have to wait too long until they reached their destination. As the two unfamiliar men backed out of the boxed area, gentle when handling with the item, she sent her boss a curious glance. "Sir?"

He grinned at her after ordering the men to place it in the middle of the large wall opposite of the elevators. "Do you remember when your dad first introduced us? You told me you had a passionate love for the arts."

Ib nodded. She recalled the event very clearly. One day, when she was ten and just developing her own style of drawing and painting, her father had asked her and Mary to sit on the living room couch because they had an important visitor. Lo and behold, Hotaru had walked on with his trademark goofy smile and kind eyes. At first, her dad had just wanted to introduce the man to his family, but it all changed when Hotaru looked up during their conversation to spot a white construction paper framed and hanged above the couch Ib was sitting on.

"My, did one of your daughters draw that?" He had asked, very interested. Ib responded that it was her that created the image. It was a very simple drawing, she knew now. It was only a pencil drawing of her family and her all standing together. The body proportions had been a little bit more than off and her style still unrealized, however, everyone could see the potential the drawing held. But when she was young, she and her family saw it as an accomplishment to remember.

Hotaru was ecstatic at someone having an interest similar to his, saying that the people he worked with were usually "dull and colorless". He had offered her a small job she could take at his own company after a long, heated conversation (as much of a conversation she could hold back then) that only she and the strange man participated in; her father had pulled away from them to make them tea with a satisfied expression, her mother was at work, and Mary looked slightly insulted but shrugged it off and walked off to play her own games in her room. The job was only to organize files and send them to the people assigned on the papers.

Naturally, once she entered her freshmen year of high school, she accepted his job offer. After all, she didn't want to depend on her family too much since she was leaving for the America soon and being independent would help her adapt to the life she would live alone. The extra money helped her get what she wanted every now and then anyway, even if her pay was only twice as much as the country's minimum wage.

"Well," Hotaru continued. "I think you'll be very excited when you see what I bought at a local auction."

The two men grumbled secret words to each other before tearing away the offending cloth, showing a blue, light purple, black and white color scheme painting.

Ib gasped, her crimson eyes widening. "Where do you want us to this portrait, sir?" the men queried, their large fingers holding the thin gold frame softly.

"Right there, smack dab in the middle," Her boss said. "The hook should already be there."

The sixteen-year old brunette heard Hotaru bark a few more orders, and she heard the elevator bell ring as the two miffed men left, but she did not register the sounds. Her orbs were glued to the portrait.

It was of a pale man with wavy, lavender hair that caressed his heart-shaped jaw. His eyes were fluttered shut and his expression serene as several blue petals and roses surrounded the corners near the person's leaning head and his hand. His posture suggested that he was leaning against a whiting wall as he held up a single blue rose to his chest delicately. His coat was sharp and tattered, which contradicted perfectly against the other smooth lines and colors, and was a dark shade of grey that reminded her of a starless night sky. Underneath she could spot an untidy green tank top and vines wrapping around the other flowers surrounding him. The vines especially showed in the empty corners of the paintings, the green popping up just like the tank top did against the regal, placid colors. If she looked down far enough, she saw a hit of light brown, hinting he was wearing khaki pants. This man… He…

"He's beautiful," She breathed out, her eyes probing the picture of the sleeping man.

"I'm glad you like it," Hotaru smiled minutely, propping his hands on his large hips as he admired the work of art himself. "I knew you would, so I hung it up for you to have a full view of it."

"This is one of Guertena's works, isn't it?" Ib suddenly asked. "The _Forgotten Portrait_?"

Hotaru nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, the very man! Are you a fan of his art?"

She smiled and felt oddly nostalgic as she stared the portrait. "Yeah, in fact, his work is the reason why I was inspired to become an artist. He's different from other artists."

Her boss looked as if he wanted to say more but was interrupted by a loud buzz from his phone. "Please excuse me, Ib," He apologized. "It seems my free time is over. We'll have to continue this conversation another day; wouldn't want the other workers to think that you're getting the special treatment."

"It's because I'm young," She shrugged. "Very well, sir. Good day."

When he left for the elevators, she walked over to her very own desk to find her in box filled to the brim. Though Hotaru didn't know, she asked Sato-san to up her work because she felt the need to pay the man the job offer and not to take it for granted. The economy wasn't at its best these days, and even some adults were taking jobs that were meant for high school and college students. It was a very lucky chance for him to give the job to her rather than another colleague.

As she filed the paper alphabetically, she glanced over at the painting again. Ib tilted her head and peered at the man in the canvas. His appearance was very enrapturing, that in itself made the painting a work of art. She was sure she saw some of the other workers near he staring that way, too, and although Hotaru claimed some of them having disinterest in the arts, she was sure the best of the best could change their mindsets.

Grabbing several under the same name, she hurried to the worker's space as it was the busiest part of the day.

And for some reason, she felt like it would be a long day.

…

By the time the towering pile of papers had dwindled down to the least important or later dated documents, the sun was already setting behind Ib. For a moment she rested, peering out of the windows that circled around the floor.

For the most part, she was alone. Currently it was time when all the other workers had their late lunch or early dinner outside or in the cafeteria space in the lower areas. Sato once suggested that she should also join them, but she declined because usually when they all went to eat it was already time for her to leave. Her father would be waiting for her at the front of the building in his new black Sedan patiently in just a few more minutes. Right now, she was just waiting for his call.

A sudden shiver crawled up her spine and caused her eyelids to shoot wide open. She froze when she heard the occasional light steps or greeting from one of her colleagues and berated herself for feeling so paranoid. She really wasn't sure why she felt so perturbed today, but it probably wasn't anything too important.

Relaxing herself, she leaned back in her comfortable chair in a Sato-like fashion as she openly stared at the famous painting under the bright lights of the company. In a way she wasn't surprised that Hotaru managed to get his hands on such a fine piece of art with his zealous attitude when it came to art and the large amounts of money he held. But also, it seemed so surreal that she was able to see Guertena's work once more, up close and personal.

'_He really is beautiful,' _she thought to herself subconsciously. _'Blue roses stand for "impossible miracles", don't they?'_

She couldn't really grasp the meaning of the painting, but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she could sense the deep origins of the portrait. Perhaps it was a portrait of Guertena's self-image when he felt depressed or had troubles with his lover, as per usual with his other sculptures and paintings…

When the painting's eyelids opened slowly, she initially did not notice. She broke out of her thoughts and peered at the man's portrait. _'Strange, were his eyes open before?'_

Ib gasped and fell back in shock as she stared back at the painting. Piercing, grey eyes slightly hidden underneath his thick eyelashes were boring holes into her crimson ones, the bubbling emotion underneath the front he adopted. They dilated in the bright light of the company as he lifted his arm up towards Ib. His peaceful frown lifted at its corners into a gleeful smile that she could have sworn she spotted sharp canines in. His fingers curled as he stretched his pointer finger in her direction. The pale lips parted, though still holding the malicious looking grin as he mouthed words.

And then Ib blinked, and the painting was an innocent, sleeping man once more.

The brunette stood from her chair, ignored the rest of her documents still stacked on the top of her desk. The moment she felt her phone vibrate in her skirt, she fled to the elevators.

…

_He was still smiling, his hair shadowing his pale face as he gripped the sides of the frame that held nothing but a space of light grey. Leaning in closer, to the color, he pressed his forehead on the cold surface, eyes dark as he observed the way she fled from the room._

_A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth._

"_Mi-tsu-ke-ta, atashi no koi."_

…

Man, the Forgotten Portrait was the saddest ending in Ib for me. I don't know why, it's probably because knowing Garry died was enough for me to cry, so to see him hung up and replacing the role of Mary (who died in that ending) as a portrait was like another slap to the face. And what's worse is that you don't even remember him! It made me feel something I couldn't put my finger on, but it was a strong feeling I usually get when I read something very tragic and beautiful and touching.

Anyway, moving on, I probably said this already, but this story has given me a buzz that no other story I've written has given me. It's probably because seeing my favorite LPer, Pewdie, play the game keeps motivating me. I feel so guilty, making all my other stories feel lonely :( lol.

By the way… Has ANYONE noticed how, in the game, when Mary joins Garry and Ib that none of the monsters attack them any more until Mary runs away with Garry's rose? That's how I figured out that Mary was friends with all the other art in the Abyss, other than the time when the doll gave her Ib's rose.

And lately, I've been getting into these moods where I want to animate something. My drawings are subpar in my opinion even if others tell me otherwise, but I've been getting these visions. When I hear a song I feel would be good for an animation, my imagination goes wild and creates a MV or something along those lines of a certain fandom. I was actually listening to Arakawa: Under the Bridge's second opening song (thanks to a Japanese fan video of IB) and suddenly an idea of creating an animation of an opening for this story played out in my mind. It gets kinda blurry in the middle of the song, but basically the intro starts with Mary and Garry shaking their hips like they do in the original video, and Ib looking confused and the opening title appears. Then when the person starts singing, the first part introduces the possessive sister Mary, then the crazed Garry pulling in Ib into the Abyss through his painting. I probably wouldn't create it until like… fifteen years from now at this rate though *_* lol.

"**Mitsuketa, atashi no koi,**" (I don't know if this is a correct use of Japanese words) should mean, "I found you, my love" basically. Apparently, Garry talks like a lady in the game because he uses the feminine term "atashi" when he talks about himself, and only girls or gay people do that… which got me confused about his sexuality ._.

Anyway, review if you loved it!

To be serious, I probably won't be touching this story too soon (unless that buzz comes back again tomorrow) and school's starting too and I HAVE TO FINISH MY PROJECT D: And I'll probably be sleeping over at my friends house, lol.

Again, review if you loved this chapter! Have questions? Comments? Is there something you would like to address?

_~CiiCiinREX._


	4. Sisters

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ib or any of the character or original plot. Kouri (I believe that's how you spell his name) rightfully owns all ownership to this game. I, however, own this story idea. :)**

**WARNING: DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS. SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER ALERT. UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE ENDINGS TO THE GAME, I SUGGEST YOU TURN BACK NOW. THIS IS FANFICTION PEOPLE, EXPECT SPOILERS.**

**Does contain a few OCs for the story to progress. I don't think the story would work if the only characters we knew were Garry, Mary, Ib and her parents, lol. Don't worry, they don't have major roles in the story, but they do contribute something to the plot.**

**This chapter might start the action? Lol? Idk, it might be a filler that ends right when the action starts or starts at the action a while before the chapter ends. :P BUT! Some DRAMA HAPPENS! And I'll have to say, some of you will HATE IT, and some of you will tolerate it. XD So don't hate me! Remember, it's all part of the plot ;3**

**In other news… woof. I STILL can't focus on my project! My school starts on Wednesday (oddly enough but at least it isn't Monday) and it's pretty easy since I have all the information, but even writing the outline for it is hard for me. *_***

**Ever since Pewdie started playing this game, I've noticed a lot more stories have been published :D ANY BROS OUT THERE? *Brofist* It's great to see more interesting stories being published about Ib. It was kind of hard to think of a plot for a continuation for it, so it ended up like this, lol.**

**I know it's random guys, but this story was actually at first my thoughts on what I believe Ib 2 (if it is ever going to be made) should be about.**

**Well… what the hell? Microsoft word makes "longhaired" into one hair to make it grammatically correct…? O_o**

Summary: Seven years have passed since Ib's strangely vague visit to Guertena's art exhibition. Her workplace bought a famous painting from an auction, and soon Ib finds herself in a dangerous game between her possessive sister and a crazed, familiar man. Crazy Garry and sister Mary. Garry x Ib x Mary.

…

4.

...

_She was running. _

_Running._

_Running from what?_

_She was submerged in complete darkness, so black that the walls and floor seemed to blend together and cease to exist completely. Like she was stepping on solid air rather than solid ground. Strangely enough, her bright red skirt, scarf, and her white polo didn't have any shadows that dimmed its color. _

_The scenery never changed from her peripheral vision; all that lived was the vacuous space. She felt like she wasn't moving at all because nothing moved with her as natural laws would let, and it was all the more to height her fears._

_Her legs burned from a consuming fire and they threatened to collapse underneath her from fatigue. Her light white and gold school blazer was weighing her down her shoulders, making her arms droop. She wanted to stop, but strong, irrational fear ordered her stiff muscles to use all their strength to speed away from her offender. It was enough to supply her body enough adrenaline for her to feel the electrifying buzz in her blood. There was a sharp pain in her lungs and throat as if she never took the time to give herself a proper rest to breathe or find a liquid to pacify her deepening thirst._

'_Is it still behind me?' She thought, sparing a glance over her limp shoulder. Her eyes widened when she spotted the Sleeping Man standing several meters behind her with his arms at his sides, awake, his grey eyes piercing enough that her breath shortens for a few moments. He did not walk or move. All he did was stand in the same spot she found him in but his form never shrunk as she continued to fly in the endless corridor. _

_His expression haunted her the most. His light brows were furrowed and his face flushed, and saltwater even threatened to spill from his eyes. His peaceful frown was weighed down into a gritted one, the corners dipping so low she thought his mouth would fall off of his cheeks. It made her feel guilty, seeing that betrayal bubbling under the surface of the beautiful man's eyes directed at her._

'_Don't look at him,' She repeated the mantra in her head. The girl whipped her head back to the front, hoping to see an opening or a door but no such luck. 'Don't look back…!'_

"_Why…?"_

_Instantly breaking her chant and order, she looked back once more at him as her small legs tried to carry her weight. He had covered the more than half the distance between them, his two legs curved and weight distributed like he was strolling over to her, frozen in place. His tears were gone as if they never existed and his brows still furrowed, but this time they drew together and pointed down to the long bridge of his nose. His pupils were dilated into slits and half covered by his black eyelashes. Mouth parted, it almost looked as if he was addressing her with his unmoving jaws._

"_Why are you leaving, Ib…? Stay with me…"_

_She turned away just as his lips drew back into a snarl, the aura of fury and despair reaching to her enough for her ankles to burn at the emotion. Her eyes caught the door just at the end of the hallway. 'Yes, an exit!' Ib nearly cried out in relief._

"_**IB!" **__The brunette screeched at the deafening shout that echoed in the corridor. Fast footsteps sounded behind her. The amount of emotion produced scratched at the insides of her ears and send a jolting shiver of fright up her spine. She could feel the sensation of the hairs on her pale arms standing up. Nonetheless, she continued to run away from the hysterical man._

_Vines began to grow on either side of her up the invisible walls towards the door. She did not dare glance behind her. With incredible speed she did not know she had been hiding in her tired body, she shot forward at the growing image of the door and slammed her hand on the knob._

_Quickly, she twisted her wrist._

_Click._

_Ib paled. "No, no, please no, c'mon…" She yanked backwards, but her only exit refused to budge. She could feel the overwhelming aura of the man shroud her, feeling him come closer and closer with each passing second._

"_OPEN! PLEASE!" Ib banged at the door, pleading so genuinely that she wished she could help herself. The screams she emitted were hoarse and made it feel like her voice was clawing at her throat until it was bleeding. "PLEASE! ANYONE, HELP ME!"_

_She froze when she felt a warm puff at hair on her neck, blowing the long frames of her hair forward. He was right behind her, towering over her with his tall body. The footsteps had stopped._

_She tried to swallow, but there was a rock sitting in her dry throat. She whimpered when she heard the sound of clothes rippling as she sensed his lips caressing the back of her ear, gripping the silver doorknob tightly. _

"_Turn around, Ib~" He sang without music and Ib found it hard to pinpoint what he was feeling with his smooth tone._

_Slowly, she did as he said. Her wide crimson eyes stared at the black space to the lower left before gradually trailing it upwards._

_A large shadow that made her seem inferior leaned over her, its wide yellow eyes glaring at her before a malicious, sharp-toothed smile reached the lower parts of its eyes._

"_MEOWWWW~"_

_Throwing her back against the wooden door, she screamed as it plummeted down towards her—_

…

"AHHHHH!" Ib screamed with wide eyes, shooting up in her bed. She panted loudly before glancing around, realizing she was in her bedroom. Groaning, she fell back into the softness of her pillow and wiped at her teary eyes with her palms. After she felt the wooziness from moving too quickly once she awoke, she let her hands flop on her thin blankets.

The window at her right was open and invited in a cool breeze that made the longhaired girl clad in a white nightgown shiver. Slipping out of her warm covers, her pale legs glowed white in the light of the full moon as she made her way to the window, its sheer curtains flapping in the wind.

She closed it, wondering when in the world it got so cold. It was the middle of the summer, and even the nights were at least fifteen degrees hotter than the temperature it was at now.

Exhaling softly, she took deep breaths to soothe her frantic heartbeat until it was lulled back into its normal, rhythmic state. The brunette made her way back to her bed but pulled away, glaring at the cute black cat pillow that lay on her bed.

_Meow._

"F-fucking cats," She growled, throwing the thing on the floor and crossing her arms as she sank into her cushion.

A small ray of light poured into the dark space of her room as her door creaked open a sliver. "O-onee-chan?"

"Mary?" Ib asked as she watched her little sister pad her way to her bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "I'm sorry, sis, did I wake you up?"

"Uh-huh," The blonde-haired girl yawned and closed the door behind her, looking up to her face. Worry was creased into her expression. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Y-yeah…" The elder sibling stuttered, shuddering when the image of the bloodthirsty shadow throwing itself at her. "It's nothing, though. It's pretty stupid, actually."

"Was it about cats?" Mary inquired tiredly, glancing at the sharp-eared pillow that had fallen flat on its face. Ib wasn't sure if Mary caught on through the pillow on the ground or if she heard her swear.

The brunette chuckled. "Yeah, I was the mouse and it was chasing me."

"It does sound scary," Mary empathized with her, sitting on the edge of the bed near Ib. "I hate those kinds of dreams, where something you know will kill you chases after you and you wake up right when it catches you."

The way her little sister chose her words had her hairs standing on end. "Well, it's over now," Ib dismissed, smiling rather shakily. "You should go back to your own room."

The blonde hesitated, looking at the bed as she played with the hem of her father's oversized white T-shirt. "Can… can I sleep with you? I was trying to sleep, but I kept hearing something…"

Ib relented to her sister's offer and smiled, sensing that Mary was about to ask, anyway. The brunette brushed away her long hair tied into a ponytail and pulled back the sheets invitingly. "Come on in."

Mary happily snuggled into the sheets near her sister, feeling rather warm in the cold night. She heard Ib sigh and place her chin over her head before dozing off immediately, exhausted from the scare of her nightmare. The blonde felt the cold on her back and squeezed them both tighter together under the sheets, staring at her sister's face.

She couldn't understand why she was the popular one at her school while Ib was seemingly a regular person. Mary believed that her sister was an outstanding person that everyone should know about and praise. She was artistic, kind, thought of others before herself and easily got along with anyone she met. Sure, she had her social gaps, but when one familiarized themself with her soft, short way of speaking, soon enough she opened up a little bit more. Her pale face was illuminated in the bright moonlight, and her long brown hair gracefully fell like water and dipped onto the blankets. The baby fat from seven years ago was almost gone, replaced with a soft jawline and curved nose. Her long, black eyelashes fluttered minutely and her eyes moved slightly under the lids as she dreamed. Mary hoped it wasn't another nightmare.

In the beginning when Mary sought to become Ib's friend, she had only wanted a playmate that would welcome her and adore her and play with her whenever she wanted. She really believed that the real world was a big world filled with fun and games. But then, throughout the years, she learned about more things. She learned about communities, education, family, bonds, true happiness, hopelessness, pain, and love. It was like a slap to the face, but Mary didn't seem to feel the aftermath of the hit. It was all intriguing and mindboggling for her. Soon, once she memorized enough life lessons, soon Ib became less of a playmate and more of a person she felt like she could rely on.

'_She's an amazing person,' _she repeated. _'I wonder why no one really notices her? She deserves more recognition.'_

In the end, Mary thought, it was all the more for her. If no one would take Ib away from her, she wouldn't mind.

She sighed contentedly, worming her way under her sister's warm chin.

The blue-eyed girl wished they could stay like this forever.

…

"_Three days…" He whispered to himself. "It's been three days…"_

_The purplette was crouched over the frame he had before, his fingernails digging into the dark blue wallpaper to the point where little red drops of blood formed under his nails. His grey eyes were wide as he stared into the image only to be greeted with an empty office place. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned a bright shade of white._

"_WHERE IS SHE?!" He roared, punching the wall next to the frame._

_Benny was quiet near him, and when he heard his friend panting, the large doll said, "She'll be back soon, Garry. I can feel it."_

_Garry trailed his gaze over to the blue-skinned doll, smiling lightly. "You think so?"_

"_I know so," Benny replied confidently. "Just you wait, tomorrow she'll be there just like last time."_

"_Tomorrow…" The man breathed. "It seems so long, yet it's not so far away…"_

_He looked back into the image, staring at the desk he found her lounging in. He brushed the tips of his fingers along the picture where she used to be. He imagined her, sitting at the desk, twirling her long hair as she stared at her papers in thought, her crimson eyes darkened in thought._

"_Tomorrow…"_

…

"Ah-CHOO!"

Koudai sent Ib a concerned look as they wandered down the short way to pick up Mary. "Are you sure you're still not sick? You could've stayed home today…"

"Iie, I'm fine," She reassured him, glad she pocketed a few tissues in case. She slipped out of her pocket and wiped her nose. "It was way worse two days ago." For a couple days, Ib had been bedridden with the worse fever she had experienced within her lifetime so far. There were bipolar switches of burning hot and bone-chilling flashes, times she had to run to the bathroom, pounding headaches, loss of appetite and fatigue. Not to mention the constant sneezing.

Apparently, wearing a nightgown and leaving the window open during the coldest night of summer did that to you.

It was the worst pain Ib had ever felt. Her groaning and stillness even scared Mary who cried over her, believing that the cold would lead to her death. Today, when she woke up, the headaches and the need for bathroom trips were gone and her appetite returned, so she decided she was well enough to go to school. She still had the occasional shiver, flush and sneeze, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

"You better not be working today," The dirty blonde said warningly as the walk sign lit up, the crowd of people flowing along with them.

The brunette sighed, shaking her head. "I would if I could, but my boss freaked when he heard I was sick. He gave me a three-day vacation to recover."

Koudai smiled. "What a nice man," he commented flippantly.

"Of course, that means I don't get paid for working three days," She grumbled, feeling a little bit depressed. "And there was this really nice painting set that I wanted for the longest time…"

"You have enough art supplies as it is," Koudai rebutted as they strolled over to the main gates of Tsuyubaya Elementary School.

Ib grinned. "There's no such this at 'too much art supplies'."

She was sure he said something but she didn't hear as she froze, staring out in front of her. Soon, her friend followed suit, trying to find what she was looking at.

Mary was underneath the large oak tree as per usual, but her attention was actually caught onto something. A boy as tall as her and confident as can be was standing in front of her, smiling as his lips moved as he said a few words to her. He had short, straight black hair and radiant green eyes that held a clever glint with freckles littering his eggshell colored cheeks, and a dimple as he smiled to top it all off. The girls around Mary all had their eyes on the two, whispering amongst themselves.

Ib watched as Mary made a short comment, something that looked pretty sharp on her tongue. The girls around her were appalled but the boy erupted into chuckles, thinking whatever she had said was funny. He then reached out to her, making the older brunette squeal in excitement. When he pulled back, he was observing a small oak leaf.

They exchanged a few more words before he left, the girls cheering around the blonde who adopted a black face. Ib was grinning widely as soon as he faced the other way, rushing up to her little sister.

The crowd of girls looked up, greeted Ib and dispersed. "What was thatttt?" Ib sang, skipping over to Mary's side.

"Nothing," The blue-eyed beauty stated quickly. "Just another random boy I don't know."

"That looked like it was more than just some 'random boy'," Ib nudged her sister excitedly. "What did he say?!"

"Whoa, holy crap," Koudai seemed dazed as he approached them, speaking aloud before Mary could respond. "Mary has a boyfriend!"

Said girl glared at the loud mouth boy. "He is _not _my boyfriend. He's just another guy that confessed he liked me."

"He looked so perfect for you!" Ib continued to gush, feeling so enthusiastic when she thought about how her sister could finally open up to people, and just when she needed someone who could stand her sister's choice of words and like her for who she was, she witnessed an event that could be the answer to her problems. "What's his name? Do you have any classes with him? He looks like he's popular with the girls!"

Mary frowned at the onslaught of questions. "His name is Daisuke, I've never noticed if we had classes together, and yeah, I've actually heard his name around the classroom during lunch and free time a few times."

"What'd you say back to his confession?"

"I told him to 'screw off'."

Both Ib and Koudai had the gall to look just as horrified as the girls. "What?" Mary asked, miffed. "I responded to him like I did to every guy that confessed to me."

"Every—guy…" Koudai sputtered before snickering behind his palm.

"WHAT?!" Ib pinched the bridge of her nose, right where her eyebrows cut off from each other. "Okay, forget about that because he actually thought it was funny. But, do you like him?"

The brunette watched, perplexed, as Mary's hair obstructed her view of her expressive, ocean blue eyes. "Mary?"

"Ow!" Ib hissed when her little sister smacked her in the arm, hard.

"You're really oblivious, you know that?!" The blonde yelled angrily. It was the usual tone of voice she used when she was annoyed with something someone said, but there were two things wrong in this situation. One, Mary actually physically harmed her unlike all the other times when she would just shout at her. Two being that her big eyes were welling up with fat tears that rolled down her cheeks.

Her pained expression made Ib's stomach drop low into her groin. "Wait, Mary!" She called out when her little sister started running over in the direction of their home. "See ya, Koudai, family issues, the usual you know, bye!" The brunette said hurriedly, following after her sobbing sibling.

The teen just stood there, not exactly what to make of the situation. "Er…" He had some gut feeling that he knew what the argument was about, but he pushed that down. "No, no, that's impossible," He murmured to himself, shaking his head. "And wrong."

Sighing heavily, he stuck his hands into his black pants pocket. Here he was, all alone once again…

"Huh?" He felt his knuckles brush against something too soft to be his pants. Grasping the object, he lifted his arm to stare at familiar, gold-lined handkerchief.

"Wait, Ib!" He joined the chase, waving the object in the air and hollering at the top of his lungs. "You forgot your handkerchief!"

…

Ib panted, throwing the front door of her home open. An empty room greeted her, meaning that her father was working late and her mother was busy with her late-afternoon job.

Running up to her sister's room door, she pounded frantically the wooden surface. "Mary, open up! Please talk to me! I didn't mean to make you cry!"

The expected silence made Ib bury her face into the door, sad and angry with herself. However, after a few seconds she heard a loud click and, as she backed away, the door swung open. A somewhat red-eyed Mary greeted her, rubbing at her nose.

"What happened there…" The blonde girl started before Ib could speak. "Forgot about it. I'm sorry about hitting you… I was just really stressed with some things at school."

"Ah, that's good," Ib sighed in relief, happy to know that her sister instantly forgave her for whatever made her snap. "I was worried it was something I said."

Mary shook her head, sniffling a little bit.

"Can… I come in for a little bit?" Ib asked hesitantly, hoping that she wouldn't upset the younger girl further. Her response was the girl shuffling to open up a little space for her to step in. Ib did that and glanced around.

She hadn't been in Mary's room for about a year now; the blonde girl always was a private person at heart and felt uneasy when someone stepped into her room, even if it was her adored sister. The wallpaper was a very faint, rosy pink, with white lining, doors, and ceiling. Her closet door was a little bit to her left across from the fluffy bed that was adorned with a large, pale green blanket and several plain pillows. Soft, beige carpet brushed against the bottom of her feet before she stood on the purple and pink carpet near the foot of the bed. Near the closet door was Mary's desk, complete with a mahogany mirror, scattered papers and books, and other assortments. There was the occasional plush, such as the cute, colorful rabbits on her dresser by the window and on the side of her desk. Mary even had the same style of rabbits for her slippers.

The blonde girl looked down and stood awkwardly as Ib judged her room. Her long, dandelion hair fell in wave as she blushed shyly, finding the way the bristles in her carpet moved as she curled her toes more interesting than her sister at that moment. "Is… is it cute?"

The brunette sent her a curious look, wondering why Mary was acting so shy and childish unlike her real self. "Yeah," She commented offhandedly. "The rabbit scheme is cute, too."

Mary beamed, and Ib was relieved when the girl plopped down on her bed without a hint that she was still dejected. "Want to see my hat? It's the same rabbit, too!"

"No, actually Mary…" Ib began, folding her hands together and looked at the girl in a serious manner. "I came in her because I had something to tell you."

The blue-eyed girl smiled, twisting her body on the bed so she could properly converse with her sister. "Sure! What is it?"

Ib closed her eyes tightly, really wishing that she wasn't there. But she was, and as a loving older sister, she had a duty to fulfill. Her mother called for it, and what she said was true. She just wished… that she wasn't the one telling Mary.

"I think it would be best if we didn't hang out that much anymore," The moment the words left her mouth, she physically felt the burden grow.

Mary's smile literally fell off her face. "…What?"

Her crimson eyes settled themselves on the rabbit plush on the dresser, not wanting to see her sister's expression as she told her. "In two years, I'm going to leave Japan to go to America for college. I'm working for a full scholarship for some of their best schools, and also an artist I really respect will be there to teach me what he knows. I'll be gone for eight years. Mom said that I should tell you because she worried you when we separate. And I just thought… you had the right to know…" She lagged off, feeling Mary shaking on the bed.

"That BITCH!" The blonde screamed, pulling at her long hair as slid off the bed to stomp around her room. In her anger she took one of her heavy schoolbooks and through it at her mirror, the loud shattering sound making Ib flinch.

Ib stood up right after her. "Mary!" She screeched in fury. "Stop that! Put the book down before you hurt yourself!"

The brunette threw herself at the girl who shrieked, both clawing at the heavy science book held above their heads. Ib was able to rip it out of her sister's hands, panting heavily. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" The brunette shouted.

"She's a bitch! A fucking bitch!" Mary yelled at Ib, though it didn't seem like she was addressing anyone at all and was talking to herself instead. "Who the hell does she think she is?"

"That _bitch _is our mother! The very person who raised us and let us live under her roof!" Ib tried to control her voice. "She's just thinking about you, Mary! I have to leave no matter what you do!"

"Then take me with you!" Mary cried desperately, tears pouring out of her eyes once more.

"You have to stay here," Ib said softly, leading the crying girl away from the shattered glass on the floor. "You would still have two years of high school to finish before you can go to college, and the Art Institute of Chicago is hard to be accepted into…"

The blonde paused before lifting her chin to look at her in the eyes. "Then let's run away."

"What?" Ib shouted at the absurd idea.

"Yeah! That's it! We'll run away together and jump from hotels for a while until we can find jobs and get a place of our own! Then you won't have to leave!" Mary said as if she had a brilliant epiphany, already planning it all out in her head while she walked around her room.

Ib shook her head, grabbing Mary by the shoulders and turning her so she could face her. "Mary, we can't do that either! In order for me to get a high-paying job to help the family, I _need_ to go to college! There's no way around it!"

"They're all fucking bitches!" The blonde girl screamed at her. "All they want is to separate us and make my life miserable—"

_SMACK._

Ib huffed, feeling the sting in her palm. It was sickening, knowing that she had hit her own sister that she loved. Mary was wide-eyed as she stared off the side, the red smear on her cheek turning darker already.

"Don't be selfish, Mary," Ib said slowly. "You always get what you want, and complain when you don't. Have you ever thought about others? It's about time to throw away your stupid fantasies that the world revolves around you because you need to grow up. Our parents are only thinking about my future, just like they would for you. And going off to college in America has always been what I wanted since seven years ago. I'm going to leave soon, and nothing you say or do will stop me."

"You always think about yourself don't you?!" Mary suddenly shouted, very frustrated. "You never think about how I feel! Don't you think I would be sad that you were leaving me for so long?!"

"Of course!" The brunette snapped back just as irately. "I always think about you Mary! You're my little sister for fuck's sake! And maybe I would actually _know_ how you feel if you _told _me!"

Mary's eyes darkened into a deep sea blue at those words. "You want me to tell you how I feel? To _show_ you? Fine!"

And so she threw herself at her sister in the chaos.

And kissed her.

…

Ib was shell-shocked. Mary was straddling her lap, her lips on hers…

"What… what the _hell_ was that?" The older sister spat out as she pushed her little sister away from her, wiping her face continuously. She felt so confused, and so, so dirty…

"Wait," Mary suddenly interjected as she flew to her feet, desperately pleading her. "Ib—"

"Holy _shit_," The two turned to see a wide-eyed, pale Koudai. His eyes were stuck on the two girls, one on the floor and the other beginning to panic. Shakily, he brought his arm up, but it didn't seem like he was seeing anything anymore. "I-Ib, I c-came here because you f-forgot your h-handkerchief, but then I overheard and s-saw…" He laughed nervously, but his eyes looked so hazed and unfocused that he seemed as if he were ascending into some form of the afterlife.

"Eh, Mary!" He shouted after the girl who broke through him with her head down. "Wait!"

"Let her go," Ib suddenly said, hearing the front door slam. "She'll be fine." She felt another headache creep on her and rubbed her temples. "I'm not so sure about me, though…"

"I didn't expect it," Koudai laughed quite humorlessly as he stared at the ceiling. "When she yelled at you in her school grounds, I thought about it but thought it was impossible. But now…"

Ib sent him a pitying stare. "You liked her, didn't you?"

Koudai was silent, slipping down the doorframe. "Y-yeah… I guess I did… But that doesn't matter anymore, does it? She likes you."

It was so wrong, hearing the words she wanted to deny spilling out of the heartbroken boy's lips. "Let's not talk about it," She sighed, getting on her feet and eyeing the broken glass on the floor. "I have to clean up her mess and then make myself busy so I don't think about it too hard…"

"I'll stay with you," He offered, grinning microscopically at her though he still did seem traumatized. _'I want to forget about it, too,' _was the hidden message she found behind his words.

"Then let's take out the tubs of ice cream and head over to my room," She demanded. "There's this movie I rented that I wanted to check out."

…

"_She's here," The tall man grinned gleefully at the sight of the tired girl slumping in her desk, looking quite appalled for whatever reason. "Don't look so distressed, koi," He murmured at the reflection the grey image let him see through, just like looking through fuzzy glass. "I'm here, and you're finally coming home."_

"_Just like I told you, sir," Benny grinned at his friend, happy he didn't seem too depressed anymore. "She's back."_

"_Yes, she is," Garry whistled through his teeth, feeling the hairs all over his body stand up in excitement for what they could do once she arrived. "Tell the others if they see here that they should either lead her to me or inform me immediately."_

"_Ok, Garry!" Benny affirmed, running off to tell the others. The purplette smiled fondly after the large doll. They were all quite lovable simpletons, he thought to himself. Just a few days after he befriended them all, they were asking "Mary who?" when he mentioned the former portrait. He frowned, thinking about the girl he came to loathe._

"_If I ever see her face, I'll slit her throat for taking my life," Garry growled, clenching his fists._

_Glancing back at Ib, he stood in front of the frame, tapping the edges. _

_He smiled._

"_It's time."_

…

Ib jumped when the office light suddenly decided to shut down, feeling an eerie breeze flow through the room. _'Something's wrong…' _She thought to herself, hating how the power gave out a few minutes after everyone decided to have his or her late lunch break. She stood from the chair and moved away from her desk, rubbing her shoulders to comfort herself. _'Maybe the rest of the city is powered down, too?'_

Glancing out the window, she was surprised when a heavy, dark fog blocked her view of the city. _'The sky was clear and the sun was setting just a few minutes ago…' _

Ib whimpered and walked forward, the silence so thick is was tangible. If she had a knife, she could probably slice through it like butter. Her footsteps, usually so light, were light thunder in her ears as she moved over to the elevators, effectively creeped out.

She panicked when the button didn't light up after she pushed it. _'Of course,' _She scolded herself internally. _'Elevators are hooked up to electricity, stupid me.'_

The only option left would be the stairs, then, but as she twisted the knob, she found it locked. "No one locks the stairs door," she exhaled shakily. "It's a fire hazard…"

The brunette shrieked in fright when she heard a large bang reverberate throughout the room. She attempted to calm herself when she heard footsteps and whipped her head around to see who it was through the dim lighting. Glancing down, she held into another scream when she saw red footprints appearing on the floor in front of her, leading her to the heart of the floor.

For a moment, she waited there until the footsteps stopped, but the silence right after the last step scared her the most. What if whatever was in the room got angry for her not following it? So, against her better judgment, she mimicked the footsteps.

It lead her to the _Forgotten Portrait, _and to her relief, the man still lay there on the wall, sleeping with a peaceful expression. But that relief turned to horror when she personally experience how the man's eyes slowly opened and stared straight into her, and how the corners of her lips lifted into a smile, and how he stretched his arms out to her.

Soft thumps were heard and Ib glanced down to spot the written message on the floor. **"O-ka-e-ri-na-sa-i, Ib," **it read. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end by the time she finished reading the inscription. That familiar sensation…

Like someone was watching you…

She looked back up at the once sleeping man. He was leaning in, his arms rippling the portrait so only his arms were seen poking out towards her. She was frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at what was happening right in front of her. Was this real?!

'_Move, move, MOVE!' _She screamed at herself in her head, but it was like her feet were glued to the floor. The moment his soft fingers brushed against her shoulders she felt herself stepping back, finally moving.

"HEL—mph!" She tried to call for help, but one hand had already slapped itself on her mouth and the other round her waist. Her muffled scream was unheard as the hands pulled her into the rippling portrait until her form no longer existed.

Soon after, her shoe fell while she struggled, landing perfectly fine on the floor.

The lights flickered back on, the messages disappeared as they blinked, and time returned back to normal in the real world.

…

I was gonna add more at the end, but my brother's been bugging me for the computer for a while now guys =_= Sorry guys.

Ugh, my neck is killing me from sitting in front of this computer for such a long time D:

This chapter is longer than the others because I COULDNT STOP WRITING *_* RAWR.

And has anyone heard of Ashe's interpretation of "Garry's Theme" on Youtube? He has a beautiful voice and it nearly led me to tears.

So yeah, Garry MIGHT be popping up in the next chapter, maybe, maybe not. It all depends on how the story leads me.

And sorry if the ending was a bit rushed. Again, my brother has been nagging me -_-

From now on, I probably will be taking longer to update. The Abyss Arc is going to be fairly complicated and deliberate, so I'm going to need to plan it out ahead of time rather than let my intuition lead me in my writing like it has been doing.

Anyway, review if you loved it!

Again, sorry if you didn't like the Mary bit, but it adds to the plot.

_~CiiCiinREX._


	5. Domestic Violence? What's that?

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ib or any of the character or original plot. Kouri (I believe that's how you spell his name) rightfully owns all ownership to this game. I, however, own this story idea. :)**

**WARNING: DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS. SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER ALERT. UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE ENDINGS TO THE GAME, I SUGGEST YOU TURN BACK NOW. THIS IS FANFICTION PEOPLE, EXPECT SPOILERS.**

**Does contain a few OCs for the story to progress. I don't think the story would work if the only characters we knew were Garry, Mary, Ib and her parents, lol. Don't worry, they don't have major roles in the story, but they do contribute something to the plot.**

**Originally I was going to ask you guys if you minded me putting in an OC for an important plot figure, but I figured you guys wouldn't really mind when I thought about all the other Ib stories out in FF, lol.**

**I'm getting my project done little by little… lol. Hopefully I'll be typing out my whole speech tomoro, and then be working on my poster.**

**(I'll be keeping this up :3) Ever since Pewdie started playing this game, I've noticed a lot more stories have been published :D ANY BROS OUT THERE? *Brofist* It's great to see more interesting stories being published about Ib. It was kind of hard to think of a plot for a continuation for it, so it ended up like this, lol. (Seriously, 30 more stories in five days? When we used to have only 60 when I came in? ._.)**

**This story was originally my thoughts on what Ib 2 should be about.**

**I planned it out… but it stopped in the middle of Chapter 6, lol. I couldn't resist writing right away.**

**WHAT'S WITH ALL THE COMMA LOLS? D:**

Summary: Seven years have passed since Ib's strangely vague visit to Guertena's art exhibition. Her workplace bought a famous painting from an auction, and soon Ib finds herself in a dangerous game between her possessive sister and a crazed, familiar man. Crazy Garry and sister Mary. Garry x Ib x Mary.

…

5.

...

Mary could understand why Ib was avoiding her, but one thing didn't seem to make sense.

Last night, her inner demons had kept her sleep at bay as they warred within her, her despair from her sister's disgust and what might be going through her head when she now sees her, and also a small bit of satisfaction from the taste of apples and honey that still lingered on her lips. The blonde girl brushed her lips while blushing, thinking back to how soft they felt against her own…

But all the while when she stayed awake, she had waited still in her bed, just like every night since that day, to hear the familiar sound of an old door groaning, a loud reverberating sigh from her dad followed by the usual soft shuffling of Ib's own feet when she kicked her shoes off. Hearing the foot patterns she had come to be familiar with, the sounds usually were like heavenly lullabies as all of her worries shot straight out the window and she fell asleep like a log.

So, naturally, she didn't get a wink of sleep that night.

Mary frowned, sitting up in her bed and patting down the rebellious strands that fell from her bedhead. The orange rays bursting through her open window blinded her through the sudden transition out of her shade. She shook her body as she often did, imagining the sleep that used to grasp onto her so vividly fall off like water from a soaking wet dog.

Whilst she strolled her way over to her desk, she stared sadly at the broken reflection of herself in the mirror, remembering the blinding anger she had felt when Ib uttered the words she never thought in her lifetime she would hear. Well, no, that was a lie; in a way deep down she knew one day or another those words would pop up at one point or another. She just denied it to defend her fragile heart. In her eyes, there was a hollow girl who she wasn't sure if she was absolutely gorgeous or outright ugly. If she was still back in the Abyss, she would have seen herself as beautiful, but right now she felt downright awful.

Maybe Ib just was so quiet when she stepped back into the house when Mary was thinking too hard last night? Mary _did _hear her father step sloppily in the doorway like he did, sluggish from his lengthening days at work. And Ib had always been a sneaky one, and thankfully she had never used that hidden talent to her advantage against her own sister for her own sake of curiosity.

There were no glass shards on the floor when she had returned that fateful day, meaning that Ib had been thoughtful enough to clean up her mess for her. It only added the burden of unneeded guilt on her shoulders.

She walked up to the desk without worries and slipped her hand on the thinnest drawer right in the middle of the side. Yanking it out, it revealed a plain sky-blue book. The T-shirt clad girl fingered the pages nostalgically before opening the journal to read her past innermost thoughts.

_Day 1_

_It was easier than I thought to become Ib's sister, but it was very worth it._

_It's exciting to think that I'm her one sister, the one person who she loves and will see everyday for the rest of her life. This world is much bigger than the one I lived in, which means there's more room for more games. She's all mine, there's nothing that Garry can do since he's stuck in that Abyss. _

_It's weird. This woman and man who I am supposed to call mom and dad talk to me like they are happy to see me, and it made me feel like nothing I've felt before. We never had mothers or fathers back in the Abyss, but I'm not really sure how I feel about it. All I care about is Ib and all the games we could be playing right now—_

Mary shut the page immediately when the inmost part of herself, what she might call the soul, react at her old mindset and invoke something that made her feel very uncomfortable.

Sucking in another breath, she turned into the middle of the book, proud to see how her writing had progressed.

—_they call it love in this world. I've read about it in several books that mom hides in her secret library she only allows access to Ib and me (though Ib seemed to care less about them) about fairytales and cheesy modern stories. It happens between a girl and a boy, and it's said to the greatest emotion a human can experience in their lifetime. Your stomach flutters as if there's butterflies flying in it, your palms get clammy from anxiety, you blush and your heart accelerates at the mere sight of them. You want to be with that person forever and ever, do whatever you can to protect them and keep them happy, and generally spend a big part of your life with them._

_At first, when I saw all the boys tripping over air to please the girls and the girls acting so coyly around the boys in books and movies, I scoffed and scorned at the concept of love. The whole idea sounded so absurb; why would people want to make other people happy when all they should care about is their own happiness? I may have just learned about respect and discipline, but that was a stretch too far. Humans could be so weird some times._

_But then, one day, when I was waiting under the usual oak tree and thinking about what it was taking Ib so long to pick me up, I realized all my thoughts usually revolved around her. They had been for years. The epiphany was both surprising and expected._

_Why did I think about her so much? Why was she the only thing I thought about when the teacher ranted on and on about geometric shapes? Why did I not care when my classmates tried to approach me?_

_As those thoughts revolved around my mind so quickly, I heard my sister calling me. "Mary!" she had called from across the schoolyard._

_I had stood up in a rush, ready to scream and protest and nag her about her lateness when the sudden image of her had my mouth dry. The sun had been behind her with the light illuminating her face, the emotions in her eyes so easy to read, like an open book. Before I knew it, I felt horrified when my cheeks felt warm and my toes tingled. What was wrong with me? I thought to myself._

_Soon after, I found myself trying to assimilate myself in every part of her life, even those that didn't interest me. I didn't like being the spotlight since all I cared about was her being my playmate, but when she asked her parents to go to a karaoke restaurant, I was persuading her to sing a duet with me before I even knew what I was doing. Whenever her stomach grumbled, I offered to make her different meals. Everything she did and said, even subtle, was interesting to me._

_When I relayed the symptoms to my mother (without mentioning it was a girl _and _my sister to boot), she had squealed and said, "That's the very definition of love."_

_What? Me? In love? Inconceivable!_

_But it didn't take too long for me to realize the truth. I found myself wanting to know everything about her that I already didn't know. When I remember the times when we were so little and took baths together, I recalled how—_

Mary snapped the book shut all together, blushing radiantly under her sleeve.

"Mary! Time to get ready for school!" She flinched when she heard her mother hollering normally. "Are you awake?"

"I'm up," She called back, shoving the offending book back into its secret space. Glancing at the clock up on the wall, she sighed in relief. She had a little less than an hour to get ready.

Having already taken a shower last night, she easily replaced her loose nightwear with her usual school clothes. Slipping on her white polo, she tied her old yet new-looking blue scarf around her neck neatly and slid into her skirt. It was the same shade of green as her old dress, she pondered, only with thin, white ruffles on the ends. She topped it all off with a pair of brown clogs, wanting to have an earthy color that matched with the ocean blue and dark green colors.

The blonde was throwing on her black and grey-lined elementary blazer as she made her way to the kitchen, smelling toast, omelets, and fruit juice. She plopped down on her usual seat, one chair down from her father. "Ohayo," She greeted her mom who set her warm plate in front of her.

"Ohayo, Mary," The young-looking woman smiled, her crimson eyes twinkling happily. The fourteen year-old tried to ignore the ache in her chest at the almost striking resemblance once she started eating.

Her father, already looking worn in his age, sighed before taking a generous gulp of his hot, black coffee. Mary did not mind his absence of words; he usually wasn't a morning person, just like her sister…

"Are you alright, honey?" Her mom asked in her place, sending a worried glance that mirrored Mary's. "You look worn out!"

"I don't know," He sighed in return, rubbing the sandpaper-like skin under his chin. "For some odd reason, after work, I was driving over to my friend's company. I guess I was in some kind of trance because I snapped out of it before going back home."

"That is strange," She agreed. "Maybe you subconsciously wanted to hang out with him again."

Mary found herself paying very close attention to the conversation at hand, glancing back and forth between the two with her attentive, blue gems with her fork still halfway in her mouth. Shaking her head, she paid their banter no mind as she glanced at the empty spot between her and her dad, concerned.

"Hey, mom," Mary interjected and peered up at her questioning mother. "Where's Ib?"

"Ib?" Her mother asked in confusion, rubbing her brows. "I don't know, Mary. Maybe she went back home?"

Something wasn't right. "Dad," Mary asked curtly. "Did you pick up Ib from work yesterday night?"

"Ib?" Her father inquired in perplexity, staring at her above the edge of his mug. "Who's that, sweetie?"

No… no, no no.

This had to be some sort of joke. But at the same time, her parents were very serious people and April had long since passed…

She ignored their calls as she ran back to her sister's room, opening the door up with an echoing slam. Ib's bed was still tucked in neatly the way Mary had found it in the morning when she had snuck a peek in.

She had misunderstood. That bed wasn't made in the way where Ib had woke up and was ready for school. The bed was made in the way where Ib hadn't come back home last night.

In a panic, she could hear her parents' troubled shouts as she flew out the front door.

…

"You can do this man," Koudai murmured to himself as he begrudgingly walked over to his close friend's house, each step feeling heavier and heavier as he progressed. "If you see her, just act like nothing ever happened! Before you know it, you'll have accepted the fact she will never like you back and have a crush on another prettier girl!"

The pep speech, when broken down, was mere words, he knew. But it was the only thing that battled against his growing doubt and dread, so he would take the bone he threw himself.

Ib didn't come to their usual meeting place at the bus stop. That in itself was worrisome. The brunette girl always had her nose stuck in her books and homework, and if not, in her canvas as she blended several ugly colors together to make one, breathtaking art piece. Just like with her job, she took school seriously and was mindful of her punctuality. The spiky, dirty blonde-haired boy sighed roughly. _'If she's sick from overexerting herself again, I'm going to kill her.'_

He cared for Ib. A lot. After all those months of him being the giving end and her having the receiving end when he attempted to initiate friendship between them, he could proudly state that it was very much worth it. The girl, although not exactly the personality and hobbies he had been going for when he thought about his ideal friend, was a complete enigma, yet he was one of the only people who could read what exact words she was thinking.

And then Ib introduced him to Mary. Soon after, he found himself beginning to crave her little sister's mere presence. She was quite a peculiar girl to fall in love with, and it seemed that if his heart continued its shenanigans, he would inevitably find himself hurting much before the night three days ago.

He remembered that night so vividly. While his mom had fallen deep into her drunken slumber, he had sobbed out all of his feeling into his pillow, cussing and crying out intelligible words. All these mangled words he felt the need to write down were running around his head mockingly, and he slammed the pen down on the lyric sheets in frustration. It was something about glass hearts and crystal tears, a dirty beggar posing as a prince to woo a queen who had her eyes set on someone else, a cat that had spat out angrily at the beggar, and more he couldn't seem to fathom. Never had he felt such a strong emotion that sent the words in his head reeling.

The next morning, he had looked at himself in the mirror, pointed, and laughed. His spiky hair was standing up as if static was housed on his scalp, his face so pale from trauma and his eyes so red he could barely see the sclera along the edges. The bridge of his nose had still been red, and overall, he was just a walking train wreck.

All of it came back to one question: why did he love Mary? Well… it was quite complicated. He loved her for—

"Oof!" He was stumbling back when a hard cranium socked him in the chest, struggling to breath. "Ow," He exhaled sharply, grasping onto his shirt tightly.

"Watch where you're going you big-eyed freak!"

Koudai peered forward with wide eyes, his face flushing a pale color. "M-Mary?"

"Don't look at me!" She screeched and jumped up, smacking his chest. It didn't hurt, but it did seem like she meant to, which wounded his feelings even further. "Don't!"

"Mary, calm down!" Koudai said calmly, taking hold of her wrists and looking down at her in concern, taking a moment to revel how small they were in his hands. "It's okay, it's just me, Koudai."

"I know it's you, I fucking know it's you," She sobbed and hid her face behind her long hair, grabbing at his white blazer sleeves desperately. "Just get me away from here, you fool!"

He didn't ask any questions as he took her hand gently and squeezed his eyes shut firmly at the sound of her heavy cries in his back, his hurt heart wanting to sing comforting lullabies to the hurt girl. The sight of the large tears splattering on the concrete provoked something inside of him as he led Mary away from the voices of her parents and to her school.

_What happened? Why are you so sad? Don't cry; please don't cry—Did something happen between you and Ib? Can I hold you and wipe away your tears for you? _All these things the teen wanted answered and said, yet he couldn't bring himself to say those things.

"It's a nice day," He said instead, pretending to stare up at the sky. "Today is supposed to the nicest day of summer, I heard. Not too hot, not too cold, sunny and without a cloud in the sky."

The spiky-haired boy heard a decline of sobs from the younger girl behind him, reducing to heavy sniffles. Did starting a lame conversation to change the subject so she wouldn't think about whatever was troubling her really work?

"Ow!" He growled, feeling fairly abused today by the blonde girl when she actually punched him near his spine. "You could have just yelled at me like any normal person!"

"I… I couldn't help it," He turned when he heard Mary's voice fall meek under her whimpers. "It's… it's your fault for changing the subject!"

He sighed, feeling like the conversation was going nowhere, and actually decided to ask her. "What happened?" He murmured softly, pulling her closer so he could hear decipherable words. They stopped in the middle of the turn near her school, near a stop sign, not minding the whirring of cars passing by here and there.

"I-Ib didn't come back home yesterday," Mary cried reluctantly. "And I think it's all my fault!"

"Shh," Koudai hushed her quietly, frowning at what she said. "She didn't come back home?"

"No," The girl shook her head, rubbing at her swollen eyes.

"Damn, where is that girl?" He stomped his foot as he looked off to the side, huffing. "I was waiting for her for twenty minutes at the bus stop, and she just ditches me?"

Mary's head snapped up at his words, staring at him with wide blue eyes filled with tears. "You-you remember her?"

Koudai couldn't help but blink at her statement. "Of course I would remember her! She's my best friend of two years! Why would I forget about her?"

"Nothing, nevermind," The blonde cut in quickly. "Anyway… The last time I saw her was when she was leaving for her job. She didn't look paranoid or worried or anything…" Then she paused in realization.

A person disappearing without reason, people forgetting about their existence… Add that with Ib's love of art and her favorite artist being Guertena _and _her boss' hobby of collecting rare and expensive art pieces—

Oh, no…

"Mary? Mary!" She snapped out of her stupor and stared at the boy with a haze in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," She wiped the remains of her tears with the back of her palm, hearing the warning bell for her school ring shrilly behind them. "I'm feeling a little bit better," she lied.

Koudai let out a relieved exhalation that was followed by a wide smile. "That's great! I'm happy you're feeling better… I've never seen you like this before, so I kind of panicked when I realized you were crying…"

Mary rolled her eyes, lightly smacking him in the arm, and he responded with a small chuckle. "I can always count on your to ruin the mood…" She grumbled, wondering how she looked now that she had finished her cry fest.

"Anyway, you should get going to school right now," Koudai commented offhandedly, glancing at the few late kids that rushed into the building. "It's understandable that you'll be late with your sister missing and all, but you don't want to be too late."

"Whatever," She rolled her eyes.

He laughed again, and she jumped when she felt a large, warm thing moving along her scalp and messing up her hair. "Thata girl!"

Realizing it was his hand, she smacked it away defensively and snarled out, "Don't touch me!"

She watched, a little bit rueful at her rash actions, as his large grey eyes shined with pain before they were covered, almost as if he threw a curtain over the open emotions in his eyes. He smiled in a way that made her actually feel worried for the boy. "Sorry, I guess I was caught up in the moment," he apologized.

"It's fine, I guess…" Mary trailed off awkwardly, hearing the first bell of her school day lingering in the air.

"Ah! You should really go to school now! You'll be really late!" She ignored his words when something beneath the collar of his polo loosened by all the movement that occurred. Narrowing her eyes, she peered closely, noting the discolored, dark spot on his pale collarbone…

"What's that?" Mary watched how he paused to look at her questioningly before he covered his neck, horrified.

"It's nothing," He laughed in a high-pitch. The blonde frowned at the weird sound emitting from the boy's throat. "I just fell from my stairs, clumsy me! Anyway, I'll be late, too, so I need to go! When you want to go find Ib, call me, okay? I'll see you later, okay? Bye!" And he was rushing off with his white blazer flapping in the pleasant summer wind, never giving her a chance to speak over him.

…

"Hey, Mary!" A short-haired brunette girl greeted in her homeroom. Luckily, the teacher had stepped out for moment for something important, so she was able to sneak in before attendance was recorded. "You're pretty late, aren't you?"

"I guess," She replied, sitting in her assigned desk near the front right of the room, propping her chin on her hand and staring at the words on the board. _'Domestic Violence?'_

"Please settle down, class!" Their homeroom teacher pleaded, and the students willingly hushed when a stranger with a label attached to her vest pocket walked in, smiling politely. "Today, instead of free time, we'll be having a speaker talk to us about something very important that I'm sure most of you have heard or seen once in your lifetime."

Mary glanced around and noticed the sullen, serious expressions the kids wore. None of them tried to talk over her voice obnoxiously like some of the uncaring teens did. In fact, those very same kids were staring at their desks, fingering the vandalism on them as if they found that more interesting than their friends. A few of them were biting their lips nervously and looking around in paranoia.

"Hello, children," The unfamiliar lady smiled as she stepped up front. "My name is Miss Robinson, and today I will be talking about abuse."

…

…

…

When Ib woke up, she found herself on a cold, unforgiving floor, shivering. Propping herself up on her feet, she brought her blazer closer to her, reveling in the warmth it provided. Rubbing her hands and blowing hot air in them, she glanced around in incredulity at her surroundings.

'_How did I end up here?!' _She screamed in her mind, her eyes roaming around the room at a frantic pace. The aligned frames piling the grey walls, fences around different sculptures, the familiar aura the building emitted…

She was at the old art museum that held the old Guertena exhibition seven years ago. Everything was how she remembered it, almost as if the famous paintings hadn't been sold off those years when she had been growing up alongside her sister. Feeling the urge to take advantage of the strange chance, she passed by the wooden front desk and trembled as she ascended the stairs that had seemed so much more intimidating when she was last there.

If the lighting wasn't so dim she would have been able to revel the sight of several memorable paintings and sculptures all at once. Unfortunately, she could barely make out the lining of her own hands as she stuck them out in front of them, so she could only recognize the works that had stood out from her previous visit.

She took a few moments to ignore the nearly insane situation she was pushed into to appraise the paintings, begrudgingly admitting to herself that most of them she could not recall. However, when she passed those and saw one of the few she knew, she would smile.

One of them was _The Coughing Man _in the downstairs area. She tilted her head to the side while she judged it. It was one of the more peculiar of Guertena's works that made some people think, _'why in the hell would he make this?' _Ib, however, took time to appreciate the straight lines around the man's jaws, making the image look very sharp, which a sneeze could be described as. It might have been one of Guertena's outlooks on ordinary life and the things we do on a daily basis, she thought.

Peering to her left, she could make out the familiar sculpture's twisting spine before she saw the color up close. _Embodiment of Spirit, _she smiled. It was a very serene sculpture, though it did evoke a melancholy feeling deep with Ib's heart as she glared down at the purposefully fallen petals of the large red rose. The thorns on the rose seemed so ironic for the young teen, telling her that something so precious and so beautiful could still harm you when you reach out to touch it. Uncomfortable, Ib left the sculpture and passed _The Coughing Man, _feeling like she might have done something she might have rued if she stayed.

The next painting's title caught her attention. _Your Dark Figure, _it read.

'_Weird,' _Ib thought with a chill running down her arms. _'Wasn't there a cat there before?' _All the painting had to offer was an ordinary block of pale green.

She sucked in a breath sharply when she heard a familiar sound beckoning her to come.

_Meowwwww…_

The brunette didn't move for several seconds after she heard footsteps behind the wall where the empty painting lay, gulping nervously. The place was so devoid of life; she felt that anything that moved or made sound was out to harm her.

After a full minute, when the footsteps continued, she decided it would be safe to take a peek at least. From her spot near _The Coughing Man, _she glanced around the dark corner, narrowing her eyes to make out shapes.

Ib could make out the paint on the floor, in the similar form of… footsteps. Just like when she was in the office…

Her hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and warning bells rang in her head, telling her not to go that way. However, seeing as there was no other way to move back to the entrance, she had to look over at it. Slowly, she inched her way over to the hallway.

"_Kah!"_

She jumped at the loud noise behind her before ruffling her hair reassuringly, pinching at her cheeks. An absurd idea popped in her head. _'No, there is no way The Coughing Man coughed. I'm just imaging things because I'm so stressed out.'_

Continuing over to the footprints and not bothering to look over her shoulder (just in case something really was behind her, she didn't want to know), she realized that the fence protecting the _Abyss of the Deep _had been thrown aside and someone had stepped on it, though it didn't seem to be smeared.

_Meoww…_

The sound was coming from inside the painting! How strange, Ib thought, crouching and brushing her fingers on the edge of the square. It looked almost like someone had walked right through the painting…

"_Ib… Where are you?"_

The voice was blurred, but Ib grasped the chance at its straws. "Hello?!" She gasped, glancing around. "I'm here!"

"_Ib, don't worry, everything will be alright… Just follow the sound of my voice."_

But, just like the mew, it sounded like it was coming from…

"_Step in, Ib. He doesn't bite."_

Testing the water, she flicked the painting on the floor with the end of her shoe, biting her bottom lip when the cerulean blue rippled as a mirror of water. She wasn't too sure about the convincing voice; things were just too weird with this place…

But, then again, where else did she have to go? The place didn't even have an entrance or exit, any door or clear window. She had checked every nook and cranny and turned up with no luck before.

Against her better judgment, once more, she backed up from the _Abyss of the Deep, _inhaled deeply and ran at the painting at full speed, holding her nose. She cried out in surprise when the painting sucked her in, the liquid around her cold. The bubbles from her small scream filtered up above her.

Opening her eyes, she glanced around in amazement. The water was so blue, the only kind of blue you would be able to find in an untouched ocean. She felt very light in this water, like she was flying. Light rays shone down from above, transforming into mere white scribbles the farther down they went. Ib glanced at the water below her fearfully; the blue there was so dark it mixed with black. She couldn't see anything past that.

Suddenly, something moved in the corner of her crimson eye, making her glance down at the chasm in dread. When a form was made out of the shadow waters, she widened her eyes and frantically swam upward, waving her arms around. Behind her, a large bottom feeder followed, the antennae that was supposed to offer light crooked. Ib pressed her hands against the lightest part of the blue that nearly merged with the white in horror when she hit a literal surface. She couldn't get back out.

She screamed and let out all of her breath as the large fish charged at her with its mouth wide open, snapping its large teeth together and easily devouring her. Without clarity, the creature stilled and sank to the bottom, its hazy eyes looking at nothing until it, too, was devoured by the darkness.

…

Ugh, my neck is killing me… again.

Sorry if the chapter was boring with the Koudai bit, but I think I'm going to make him have a much bigger role than all the other characters I've made, but less than Mary, Ib, and Garry, of course.

I drew a picture for next chapter! Hope to be writing soon enough to upload it! It's most just a lineart, but if any of you guys want to color it, tell me:) I'm not even gonna bother with coloring it now (I have a mac, so Paint Tool Sai is out of the question, but if Gimp works I just might).

By the way… I know how people assume how Ib's English name is "Eve", but according to Wikipedia, Ib is short for Isabelle. What the hell? XD

I can't stay away from this story for too long. It's like I'm obsessed, lol. I would stay up all night, thinking about details I could add to the plot.

I tried writing out the plot, and, well, I only wrote it up to the middle of Chapter 6, probably a bit more less.

Anyway, I should really be going to bed, guys. Thank you for reading!

And, guys, thank you SO much for the support you guys have been giving! Your reviews make me smile, hahaha:)

Hope to be checking in soon!

_~CiiCiinREX._


	6. Of Kitties and Crushes

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ib or any of the character or original plot. Kouri (I believe that's how you spell his name) rightfully owns all ownership to this game. I, however, own this story idea. :)**

**WARNING: DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS. SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER ALERT. UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE ENDINGS TO THE GAME, I SUGGEST YOU TURN BACK NOW. THIS IS FANFICTION PEOPLE, EXPECT SPOILERS.**

**Ugh, sorry guys, but it looks like by the time you read this chapter, I'll be filled up with AP work ;_; I would write if I could write, but unfortunately I was stupid and indecisive enough not to drop one of the two AP classes I have. I absolutely love writing, so I didn't want to drop my AP Writing class, and then I have AP US History (when History is like my WORST subject ever) but I like the outline things they do in that class as opposed to the honor's interactive notebook thingy… So I didn't drop either of them. Lol. Gonna go kill myself now.**

**(I'll be keeping this up :3) Ever since Pewdie started playing this game, I've noticed a lot more stories have been published :D ANY BROS OUT THERE? *Brofist* It's great to see more interesting stories being published about Ib. It was kind of hard to think of a plot for a continuation for it, so it ended up like this, lol. (Seriously, 30 more stories in five days? When we used to have only 60 when I came in? ._.)**

**This story was originally my thoughts on what Ib 2 should be about.**

**Another new character coming up! I hope this one fancies you better than Koudai when you try to imagine him…**

Summary: Seven years have passed since Ib's strangely vague visit to Guertena's art exhibition. Her workplace bought a famous painting from an auction, and soon Ib finds herself in a dangerous game between her possessive sister and a crazed, familiar man. Crazy Garry and sister Mary. Garry x Ib x Mary.

…

6.

...

Ib's eyelids fluttered to the sensation of a constant, light prickling on the back of her neck, flinching when she came to. Groaning she picked herself off the stone floor, hearing a light swish. Feeling her palms lighter and colder than usual, she looked down to see a small puddle pooling all around her body.

"Eh?" Confused, she peered around her, trying to conjure up memories that would fill in the gaps in her mind. She had been working, looking at the painting that Hotaru-san bought, and then… _and then…_

The man in the painting came alive and pulled her into a figment of her reminiscences, more specifically the way the old art museum miles away from her house had been nine years ago during the Guertena exhibition.

For some reason, it sounded way crazier when she tried to explain it in her head rather than just experiencing the event itself.

She shivered and picked herself off the stone floor, not feeling cold, oddly enough. It might have been the water slid across her skin and clothes and pooled back down into the small, man-made pond, how it merely slithered off of her and never soaked into her clothes, hair, or skin.

Cautiously, she peered around to appraise her surroundings. Whatever strange journey she had taken had landed her in a Roman-like courtyard of sorts; she was standing in the middle of a shallow, square pond with an intricate gold symbol in the middle of the stone floor. The color was much more richer than the yellow lining of her school blazer, and the luscious, swirling design reminded her of Koudai's unusually pretty, circular cursive. Bordering the pond was a rectangular platform created from the same white marble, four staircases from each side of her leading outwards, and four large columns that reached upwards to the darkness of the ceiling. Ib squinted her crimson eyes in the dim lighting, wondering just how large the room was. The place reminded her of a how a play setting, creating a life-like setting inside of an already closed in room, with the beautiful structure encircled by dark blue walls several meters away from the exits forward, left, and right of her.

It was madness, she knew. What normal girl would lie back and accept such a ludicrous fate? But as she waddled her way out of the cool water and onto the flat marble, she noted how she felt oddly connected to this place. Frowning in contemplation, she wondered why the creepy, dark blue walls filled her with nostalgia whilst the comforting marble construction was unfamiliar.

She slunk out of the water, wringing her somehow already dry blazer. But she didn't pay attention to it as she squinted her eyes in the darkness, her pupils dilating and shrinking to get used to the dimness.

There were three doors, but which one would she choose?

'_Is there anything behind me?' _She pondered, glancing over her shoulder. In the veil of grey she could make out a staircase protruding from the dark walls and leading down into the Roman-like structure.

An exit! Her hopes rose, knowing that she could get out of the damned, unknown place.

She knew she should have whizzed up the steps leading outwards right away, but she found her eyes trailing over to the door on her initial left. It _was _a vacuous space thus far. Even if she ran into something dangerous, she could always flee up the stairs. This could be an once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore an unknown realm…

So, she silenced the voice screaming inside of her mind and walked away from the staircase to the door on her left. The sound of her footsteps nearly mocked her with the way they reverberated off the walls of the large room. Soon enough, she found herself staring at the plain, dark door and silence like white noise in her ears. Inhaling deeply, she shakily reached out and grasped the black doorknob with a sweaty palm, testing the waters with a small twist of her wrist. She breathed in a little more when it twirled far enough to her an eerie _click _sound.

Ib opened the door a crack, peering into the room with caution. After a few indecisive moments, she fully opened the door and glanced around, not sure if she should trust the room.

It was an unending corridor, one that it was so long that the end was shrouded with black. Having seen enough horror movies to be paranoid in similar situations, the crimson-eyed girl shut the door behind her softly, not wanting to be caught off guard by any sort of creature or crazed persona. The walls were painted with the same shade of blue, but they seemed brighter when her eyes finally adjusted with the darkness. Frames lined the walls of the thin hallway; paintings, Ib realized as she peered closely, just like the ones at the art gallery.

Releasing the doorknob of her crushing grip, she sighed with choked relief when the back of her hand knocked against something solid, making her flinch slightly. She turned to see a small table with a worn-looking clay vase with a single, full rose soaking up the water.

'_A rose?' _The brunette played with the petals gently, glancing towards the other end of the hallway. It was a strange place to put a single flower, and it was much too tense and coincidental to be a secret admirer's gift.

A burning pain erupted in her chest suddenly, making her double over on her bent knees. Gasping, she thought, _'What was that?!' _

As fast as the hurt came, it receded and left Ib feeling faintly more fatigued than before. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and clenched her fists, pausing when the pressure on her chest stayed but did not stab into her. Sensing something crumpling under her fingers, she opened her left hand and spotted a lone, red petal, its water dampening her palm. The moment the petal slipped from her hand, the pressure was lifted off her chest. Greedily sucking in oxygen, she gladly welcomed the lack of constriction around her lungs and ribs.

Still bent over, she narrowed her eyes over at the silver plaque on the table. _Embodiment of Spirit, _it read. _'Isn't that one of Guertena's works?!' _thought Ib to herself in shock, wondering why the name was slapped onto a plain bedside table and not a description for a large sculpture at an exhibition. It filled her with strange remorse, peering down at the flower. It was almost… _familiar._

She took the flower out of the vase, wanting to test her theory. Albeit reluctantly, she gave one of the petals an experimental tug, holding in a scream when a sharp jab was sent to her rectum. Whimpering and avoiding the thorns, she carefully pocketed the flower. _'It's literally the embodiment of my spirit… My life is somehow connected to it.' _Unfortunately, no amount of science or knowledge she learned at school would explain this fact or how well she took the news.

There were eight petals left, she calculated to herself. Her eyes occasionally blurred over from a small amount of weariness and her red shoes felt somewhat heavier than usual, but she was able to shake off most of the hindering sensations. Hesitantly she continued forward, her eyes flickering back and forth to her left and right.

The paintings emitted a similar aura of those she had observed in the art gallery, though they had a darker tone. Was it because of the altered atmosphere? Or were they a completely different set from the ones she eye before? She may never know.

The first few were ones she saw before or were completely new to her. One that stuck out to her was _Worry, _depicting part of a white figure's face, his one eye staring down at her with the emotion it was named after. "Why the long face?" Ib couldn't help but ask the painting as she looked back up at it.

It did not respond, which was expected. However, Ib noticed with numbed shock, the figure blinked down at her figure before looking over at the place where she had come from. When the brown-haired girl glanced over that way, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever the silhouette of the painting saw, though, must have concerned it as its eyes constantly flickered between her and the door.

Backing away from the moving picture, she said nothing as she continued down the corridor once more, the hairs on the arms under her blazer sleeves bristling when she spotted familiar paint smearing across the walls and floors on her right.

"Eh… Ome… Ibco… The hell?" She stopped and frowned, glaring at the astringed mess of letters placed every which-way. It reminded her of a child's unguided handwriting, one letter here and the other smack dab in the middle of the floor. **(1)**

"Come, Ib…" She said slowly, remembering the same message from her office visit. Gulping, she contemplated between fulfilling her widening curiosity and making a run for the exit.

_BAM!_

She froze, glancing behind her to the source of the noise. The door was still in tact—it had not moved at all—but the table was upturned in a misshapen way and the vase shattered into pieces by the wall, the water slipping down from the splatter on the surface to the cracks in the floor.

Light pats caught her ears as she glanced down and witnessed red letters pointing to the way she had been heading to.

_HURRY._

A series of thumps resounded, and as she glanced back, Ib backed away a few steps when familiar painted footsteps appeared in front of the door leading to the exit. It was only until there were three more steps that the girl realized, with dread, that whatever was there was _coming towards her. _

She quickly pivoted on her heel, breathing hard and determined to create and keep a distance between herself and that… that… _thing._

She was running once more.

Running.

Why did this feel like déjà vu?

The sensation of speeding down a thin corridor was exhilarating; the faster she went, the more it felt like she was flying off the ground. Blood roared in her ears as she ran into the black of the hallway, the darkness lifting more as she raced forward. All the tiredness she had from before dissipated when her adrenaline kicked in, her legs bursting with energy.

The mere sound of footsteps had her on edge, made her heart pound against her ribs and her throat dry. It was the only thing other than the white noise she could hear, so much so that it felt like the thing following her was right beside her.

She flew to the door once she reached the end, holding in her victory sigh until she was truly safe. Slapping her hand on the knob, she kept yanking when the knob refused to twist, as if it were stuck. "PLEASE OPEN!" She nearly sobbed, banging on the door, feeling like she was going to dying from her own fear before the invisible man—whatever the hell it was—caught her.

Stepping back, she peered into the darkness in the corridor, still hearing the footsteps but not seeing any telltale footprints. But the rhythm was speeding up; she could hear the walking pace turning into a jogging pace.

Hyperventilating, she searched for anything anywhere that may help her escape when she spotted the small, childish writing in purple paint on the door.

"_I watch over my loved ones, yet I am helpless to assist_

_I am the bringer of doubt, the indicator of mistrust_

_I am like a haze that shrouds, a mist_

_I cannot help, but feeling is a must_

_I rear my ugly head when it's someone you love_

_When you release me, I soar like a dove above._

_Who am I?"_

"A riddle? Are you fucking KIDDING ME?!" Ib screamed, nearly pulling at her hair in anxiety. Sure, she loved her haikus and creative writing, but _not _when it's in the middle of her and a door that led to absolute safety!

"Bringer of doubt, indicator of mistrust—fuck, I don't know, my mom?" The brunette grumbled hastily under her breath, feeling suffocated under the immense pressure of life and death that was thrown at her. The fact that the thing was now running towards her in the dark of the corridor didn't help.

'_Calm down,' _She told herself, exhaling erratically. _'Calm down and think carefully.'_

"I watch over my loved ones, yet I am helpless to assist…" Ib read over the verse again quickly, the urge to look over her shoulder was unbearable. "Bringer of doubt, indicator of mistrust, haze that shrouds, a mist, cannot help, feeling is a must, someone you love… When you release me, I soar like a dove above…"

Somehow, the poem reminded her of her best friend, Koudai. He was such a carefree guy, laughing and joking about this and that, cheering her up when he felt like she was fretting too much, depressed, or too serious for his tastes. He was like a personification of the sun, bright and happy all the time…

Wait, that's it!

The red footprints were in sight by now, close a great distance between itself and Ib with each passing second.

She threw herself at the door. "It's Worry! Worry! Please open!"

The surface quite literally flung itself open and let the girl cave into the room with a thud, the door closing just as strong. The brunette swallowed thickly as she slowly slid away from the door on her bottom, her eyes glued on the unmoving doorknob, even when she leaned against the wall she hit on her back. It was completely silent, the only sound being her erratic heartbeat and uneven breathing. The footsteps had stopped, and Ib gulped, realizing that the moment she slipped into the room and the door closed, that thing had been within arms length and could have caught her if her wits had been even a second slower.

She was still shaking, even as she picked herself up off the cold floor. Her legs were like jelly as she propped her body up against the wall and her hands wavering nervously. _'I'm _never _going back in there again!'_

But then… how was she going to make it to the exit? That had been the one pathway that would have taken her home quickly. There were two other doors leading to that Roman platform, which meant she would have to find a way to circumnavigate to either one of them. Which meant that she would have to spend more time in this hellhole.

'_I don't have time to rest,' _Ib thought to herself, walking into the large hallway unevenly. _'Mom, Dad, Koudai and Mary are all probably worried about me… Have they noticed that I'm missing yet? I hope they called the police, but I doubt that the authorities will help me at this point… Sucked into a painting and thrown into a possibly alternative universe where ghosts ran after intruders and art moved… Yeah, they probably wouldn't help anyway.' _Still, the thought of people worrying over her absence and searching for her motivated her to keep moving.

And on the topic of Mary, she didn't quite know where she stood. The blonde was her sister, and she absolutely adored her, but knowing the love her sister was feeling was much more intimate than what she had expected… It was just shell shocking. Yes, she was still angry and all that, but she has been trying to understand Mary's point of view, which was very hard since the thought of being sisters really upped the discomfort on her level. But was it necessarily revolting…? Ib brushed her thumb over her lips, thinking back to that incident, frowning deeply.

"My first kiss taken by my own sister…" Ib muttered under her breath. "I was expecting something a little more… relaxing…"

She abandoned that thought as it still left her speechless and her mind boggled. What would she tell Mary? How should she reject her? How should she act once she gets back home?

'_Not now,' _the brunette thought to herself begrudgingly. _'Focus on getting out of here alive.'_

The room was basically a larger, winding hallway with sharp cuts and turns and two doors. All of them were locked, so Ib just mapped out the place in her head and made a note to visit again if she finds anything to pry them open. At the ending of the snaking route, she found another entrance. She opened the door, peeking in carefully.

Biting her lip, she looked into the complete blackness inside the room unsurely. She wouldn't be able to see anything at all, so it was a complete waste of time if she went inside just to feel around for another door. Also, who knew what lurked inside of that blackness, waiting for her to enter just for her to meet her potential demise and possibly suffer and slow, painful death.

But at the same time, she had nowhere else to go. The rest of the doors were locked and she had no tool to open them, and the way back was a definite no. "Here goes nothing," Ib held her breath as she stepped inside. Thankfully the door did not slam behind her like she thought it would, so she had a light source.

If she said it was pitch black, that was an understatement. She couldn't even see her own outline or that hands she kept stretched out in front of herself as she strolled deeper into the unknown. She faltered in her steps when she was several meters away from the exit and her hands had touched nothing. The room itself was never-ending.

"Maybe I should go back…" She hesitated, peering into darkness—

The door slammed behind her loudly, the light immediately eaten away by the greedy darkness.

A sense of helplessness overwhelmed Ib. At least when she was running away from the invisible perpetrator she could see a ways away before the darkness shrouded her further vision. But here she could not see anything, even the movement when she experimentally waved her hand two inches away from her eyes.

The only thing left to do was to keep moving, Ib released her breath and clenched fists. It would do no good to stay in the same spot like a sitting duck; she had more of a chance of escaping if she kept a constant motion.

"_Meowww~"_

"Ahhmmph," The sixteen-year old nearly had a heart attack at the sudden sound, immediately muffling her small scream with the palm of her right hand. With the left on her chest, she glared in the general direction where the sound came from.

The anxiety she was experiencing was fueling her frustration. Chewing on her bottom lip whilst fuming, she called out, "Stop mocking me and show yourself you stupid cat!"

At first, nothing but stillness responded to her words. But then very, very light pats on the rugged floor circled around her, heightening her fighting spirit. The sound was throwing her off; the creature was probably what it was like in her dreams: large as a tower, large eyes filled with malicious intent, and a wide, evil smile. She braced herself for whatever would happen, her jaw taut with tension.

The sensation of something large brushing against her bare legs nearly made her gasp out of surprise, but she held it in and stood her ground. She would not let this thing manipulate her…!

"Meow," Ib's crimson eyes trailed down to the source of the sound, blinking when large and sharp yellow eyes peered up at her, scrutinizing whatever it could in the darkness. The bright color nearly blinded her in the contrast of the great blackness of the room. The cat did not make another movement as it gazed up at her, almost expectantly. And it must either be a very small cat or the large cat was somehow able to trick her by defying its own body mass and smashing itself against the floor to complete the illusion of its size.

"Um, well, hello there," Ib murmured, feeling somewhat silly for spouting off battle cries and strong threats to a creature that did not take advantage of her vulnerability in the darkness. Instead of a crazed glaze in its eyes, the cat's eyes had a hint of a sneer in them as they danced around the darkness. Did it just roll its eyes at her?

"Mewww," The girl couldn't help but notice the change of tone as the eyes turned away from her, the same large object slithering around her legs. When the eyes did not move, she decided it was its tail. Although startling, as it was random, she felt like the animal was attempting to give her a sense of comfort in the unsure realm she was spiraling through. She smiled at the security of the thought.

She felt silly for doing so, but having no other way of exiting out of the room and especially this world, she kneeled down in the darkness and caught the cat's attention, its eyes snapping back up to her own and piercing right through her. "Hey there, kitty… Is there any way that you could lead me out of this room? I can't see anything…"

Ib could only tell it was tilting its head by the way its eyes slanted, wide and curious. Then it mewled and turned away, and another warm streak brushed against her skin. Keeping a lookout for the corner of its eyes, as it was her only guide, she attempted to follow its small footsteps.

They made several sharp turns and pauses as the cat reassessed its surroundings, the eyes flickering up and down and left and right and at her and back at the darkness in several sessions. Doubt snuck into the back of her mind when it felt like five minutes passed in their journey through the dark maze.

_Have you ever considered that this cat—if it even is a cat—is leading you straight into a trap?_

'_Well, it's not like I can exactly turn back now,' _the crimson-eyed girl decided as she mulled over the question. _'I've placed my trust in this cat; if it betrays me, I'll do my best to run away. If it helps me, then I've found a friend in this hell. Either way, it's better than wandering back where that thing might have broken through.'_

"Meow!" A sharp smack on her leg alerted her, snapping her out of her thoughts. The wide eyes were narrowed into a heated glare. The cat gestured over to the wall in front of them before staring at her impatiently, the sound of harsh thumping against the rug suggesting that he was flapping his tail in frustration.

Waving her hand in front of her, she paused when she felt the familiar surface of the door against her fingertips, trailing down slowly before grasping the familiar sphere of the knob. With a quick twist, a click resounded and the door flew open, the light so blinding that Ib had to shield her eyes from the painful assault. She was still blinking and squinting as she set foot into the lighted room, feeling better now that she could see past her own nose.

After a few minutes of her eyes adjusting to the stark brightness, she heard a questioning _prr _from her right.

No wonder she could only see its eyes in the darkness, the teen realized as she looked down at the cat. Its whole figure was shrouded with a pure black that merged with the shadows; even its nose matched the color when usually dark cats sported a light pink nose. The only colors from its form were its big yellow eyes and the pink insides of its just as large ears.

The animal was considerably small as well, which disproved initial assumption about it being a large, ferocious beast. Its body was small, yet long and sleek, and its legs were a strange shape. The trunks of its legs were at the size of a normal cat's, yet the muscular build shrunk the further down it went until it was at the paws, which were technically stubs. However, despite its tininess, it was definitely an intimidating sight. Everything about the cat was sharp. On the top of its head, it had a spiky mohawk (Ib did not know cats could fill punk hairstyles at all, if any) and its ears had a sharp point at the tips. Its chest was filled with sharp-looking hairs flying every which-way, creating the illusion of a mane. The cat's tail was abnormally large and had a crook in the middle, reminding her of how cheetahs used their tails like rudders when they ran. Even its eyes were piercing as they glared up at her, its brows twisted in an irritated fashion.

"_Hisss," _It spat at her, twirling around and walking away from her and the door.

Ib frowned at the sudden displeasure it expressed, wondering what caused its mood to drop. "Hey, wait for me!" She called out, catching up to its side. The animal merely sent her an annoyed but acknowledged glance before setting its sights forward and forward only.

The teen allowed a silence to fall upon them as she stared at the small creature. It was small, bigger than a kitten yet smaller than an adult cat, and it looked like it was always walking on its tiptoes. She wondered if it could really understand what she was saying. The other times could have been mere coincidences.

"So… You're from that painting _Your Dark Figure, _aren't you little guy?" Ib wasn't sure why she took to the idea of the cat being a male, but when it peered up at her without exasperation, she decided it was.

He gave an affirmative meow before looking forward again as they walked down the bright hallway.

"You can understand what I'm really saying, right?"

"Meow," There was an edge to the sound.

She didn't know how, but it really felt like it was a real, awkward conversation between her and someone else. She was quiet for a few moments before deciding the silence was much worse than the noise she was making. "I really hope I can get home soon safely," The teen found herself admitting to the cat when the door at the end of the hallway was in sight. Sighing nostalgically as she remembered all the important people in her life, she smiled bitter-sweetly as she murmured, more to herself than the cat, "They're all probably still waiting for me to return…"

With that, Ib indulged herself with motivating thoughts, never noticing how her furry companion constantly sent her glances when he thought she wasn't looking. He pawed at the door in front of them, mewling, and she complied as she opened the door.

The next room was significantly different from all the others, with the walls, ceiling and floors adopting a red shade and being as big as the room she started in. The more she looked around, the more she noticed how the color made everything seem brighter, and how, unlike the other rooms, there were barely any paintings lining the walls. The ones she noticed were ones of a normal heart, and next to it the lines of measurement from an electrocardiogram.

"_Grr," _Her companion suddenly growled, pulling at her skirt with his teeth. It was like he was trying to yank her down on the ground to sit behind the small wall in front of them. She complied and crouched near the cat, whispering, "What is it, boy?"

He didn't respond as he looked intently to the left, backing into her form slowly. She held in a gasp when a manicured hand pierced the rug of the floor, followed by the rough sound of someone dragging a thin object on the ground.

She felt the tip of his large tail press against her lips tightly, closing her mouth. They both watched as a form pulled itself into their view. It was a woman halfway out of a frame, her long hair pooling on the floor as she literally slide herself on the floor. She was wearing a red shirt, one that nearly blended in with the color of the ground, her mouth open as she peered around almost aimlessly.

Before the woman could see them, Ib crushed her partner against her chest in a tight hug, the situation suddenly sinking in.

What… _was _that thing?!

.

.

.

Koudai sank into his sheets deeper when he heard piercing shrieks from the living room, wondering if he should hide underneath the bed to possibly avoid being hurt. "That's the coward's way out," the dirty-blonde boy scolded himself harshly, letting his fingers dig deep into the pillow. "You need to face what you deserve, what's coming to you."

He was sporting a darker look in his eyes, the usual, fiery gleam in his grey eyes smothered out by doubt and fear. From the corner of his peripheral vision he caught the eyes of his reflection, and it eyes were mocking, torturous. The wait was unbearable and the silence that set thick.

Grey eyes trailed over to his desk, gazing through one of his specific drawers. He wanted to pull out that familiar portrait, trace his fingers of the shell of a happy family: him as a genuinely happy toddler, his mother's grin splitting from actual joy, and his father still present at that time, smiling warmly at the camera with a wise glitter in his light eyes. But if his mom found out he had that, who knows what she would spout off on again.

It felt strange, to switch from his happy persona to his real, despicable one. Throwing the pillow on the floor, he curled up in his blankets protectively.

Outside of his home, he was known as Koudai, the best friend of Ib who was crushing on Mary and was always bright and happy. But at home, all could ever be was a waste of a life… according to his mom, anyway.

Ib… that reminded him… He had promised to help Mary with the search for her sister.

Where was that girl? If she didn't show up anytime soon, Koudai knew he was going to freak out and cause an onslaught of connected actions, which wouldn't result in anything beneficial. Knowing his best friend, and more specifically his only real friend, had left without telling anyone was unsettling.

Who would he tell his lame jokes to when boredom strikes? Who would he be able to complain about school, the homework and the teachers, after school? Who would he walk with and share secrets with as they walked down the street to pick up Mary from her school?

'_When mom is sleeping, I'll look for her if Mary is ready,' _Koudai decided, biting at his fingernail.

He flinched when the door nearly swung off its hinges and slammed into the wall, probably creating an even bigger dent in the hole. "There you are you little piece of shit," A slurred, heavy voice snarled as a black-haired woman stomped into the room, one hand clenched into a fist and the other grasping the neck of a wine bottle. "Did you really think you could get away with anything?!"

Koudai felt the same emotion he did every time he dared to peek up at familiar green eyes, filled with a hate-fueled fire. Once the first fist fell down and smacked his flesh, he was shutting his eyes and tuning out all the screams that would have driven him insane with shame, drifting into a wonderland filled with a laughing, safe Ib and a caring Mary who smiled at him encouragingly.

.

After an hour, he was stepping out into steam and out of his shower, water dribbling down his figure. With one towel wrapped tightly around his torso and another swiveling on top of his head as he dried his hair, he glanced down at his buzzing phone on the white counter, eagerly flipping it open when he saw the contact. The pink and red stained towel fell to his neck as his eyes trailed over the words.

_From Mary-chi; 9:58 PM._

_I'm gonna go look for Ib tomoro; you coming?_

Koudai smiled slightly, happy that she was actually including him on the search rather than leaving him in the dark like he thought she would initially do.

_To Mary-chi; 9:59 PM._

_Of course! I'm going crazy without her for one day! :( I hope she's okay… Where would you want to meet up?_

He felt like a giddy teenage girl as he stared at his phone, expecting it to ring five seconds after. To distract himself he threw the towel on his head into the hamper, making sure to note to use strong bleach for the next load of clothes.

Hissing in pain, he dropped the towel around his body and looked himself over in the full-body mirror. There were discolorations all over his body; one on the trunk of his neck overlapping the old one on his collarbone that Mary pointed out, one below his left peck, several on his stomach, and a few littering the pale surface of his back. He saw the bruises as an indulgence for his sins, being the cause of the death of an important person… He was the reason why his family felt apart.

Ugly, worthless, guilty… He could only see himself as that as he looked into the mirror.

He was brought out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed again. Quickly slipping on a pair of plain blue boxers, he flipped his phone open.

_From Mary-chi; 10:05 PM._

_At my house at 10._

Koudai pouted at the briefness of her messages, subconsciously desiring a substantial conversation from the girl.

_To Mary-chi; 10:07 PM._

_Ok! I'll be there as soon as I can, maybe even before 10! I really do miss her… School was so unfulfilling without her scolding me for sleeping during classes, haha. _

The boy set the phone down, only to immediately feel another notification seconds after his last message sent.

A range of emotions exploded at the sight of those certain words.

_From Mary-chi; 10:07 PM._

_Are you okay?_

It was the first time the blonde girl actually showed concern to someone other than her family, but it only filled him with shame and fear. He didn't want Mary to know the real him, the despicable side of him. It made him even more despicable, but he wanted to stay by her side no matter the cost.

_To Mary-chi; 10:08 PM._

_Pft, I'm fine! I just miss her is all… We'll find her tomoro for sure! Count on it! :)_

And with that, Koudai flopped down in the dark on his bed painlessly as he stared up at his ceiling, star struck as he pressed his flip-phone close to his heart.

The excitement mixed with worry made it hard for him to sleep that night.

.

.

.

DUDES. I FINALLY GOT A FREE WEEKEND NOT FILLED WITH TONS OF HOMEWORK. IT'S MY SECOND WEEK OF SCHOOL. DAMMIT. XD.

…Is it too angsty? lol. Character development for Koudai.

And another character introduction! The cat, soon to be named (got it ALL planned out) isn't really an OC since he's based off of an actual painting from the original game, but at the same time he is? Idk. All I know is that before I wrote this chapter I've been drawing him over and over and over again until I was happy with how he looked… sorta. The sketches I've made of him have more of a cartoonish feel to them rather than anime, but I think I'm still developing his style. The picture I drew before, (will probably upload soon) the way he looks in the picture I'll upload IS WAYYY different from the way I draw him now. So don't be thrown off if you see different styles when I update more pictures. (I'll have to take down a few sketches, though, so there won't be spoilers).

Is the amount of OCs making the story interesting? Or does it feel like they're Mary Sues? I need your guys truthful opinion; I really feel like the cat's description is really out there compared to all the other characters.

**(1). **Has anyone else ever watched someone play/played Ib and tried to read those letters in the beginning of the game and go "WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY TRYING TO SAY? FTHIE? xD"

Ugh, well, I'm gonna go to bed now. Way past the time I tried to set for myself -_-"

Again, please review and tell me your honest opinions about the OCs, or if you enjoyed. They really do help me look at things and improve them (eventually, lol).

See you guys later!

_~CiiCiinREX._


	7. The Women Here Like to Play

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ib or any of the character or original plot. Kouri (I believe that's how you spell his name) rightfully owns all ownership to this game. I, however, own this story idea. :)**

**WARNING: DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS. SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER ALERT. UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE ENDINGS TO THE GAME, I SUGGEST YOU TURN BACK NOW. THIS IS FANFICTION PEOPLE, EXPECT SPOILERS.**

**Writing as fast as I can ;_; If only my hands were as fast as my thoughtsssss!**

**ANYWAY~ If you guys want to see how the cat character looks, please look through my gallery on deviantart. My account is SwiftWolfgirl44 (but please don't look at the other, older crap. It's sooo horrible xD). There are two pictures, one concept sheet and the other with Ib trying to run after the cat. Soon, I will be trying to upload concept sheets of Koudai, Garry, Mary, and Ib.**

**(I'll be keeping this up :3) Ever since Pewdie started playing this game, I've noticed a lot more stories have been published :D ANY BROS OUT THERE? *Brofist* It's great to see more interesting stories being published about Ib. It was kind of hard to think of a plot for a continuation for it, so it ended up like this, lol. **

**This story was originally my thoughts on what Ib 2 should be about.**

**I was really worried most of you would hate the fact that I put OCs in this story, so I was surprised when it came out as half and half (as of now). Some of you accepted Koudai (which I'm happy for because he does feel like a character you can connect with) and loved Miki (the cat). Yes, they will have important roles in this story now, but how can you expect a great story to expand if you only have three main characters (Mary, Ib, Garry)? Because, honestly, how do expect Ib not to have close friends after that incident for seven years and Garry not trying to socialize with everything that moved in the Abyss? They will eventually socialize and make friends, as human needs deem so. And I'm sorry if Koudai was too angsty, but he won't be having too many of those moments. I've decided that I'm going to stick by the story I originally came up with, and at this point I won't care what other people have to say negatively about them. I will still be influenced, but the changes won't be too big.**

**From here on out, most of the rooms and places I describe will be familiar.**

Summary: Seven years have passed since Ib's strangely vague visit to Guertena's art exhibition. Her workplace bought a famous painting from an auction, and soon Ib finds herself in a dangerous game between her possessive sister and a crazed, familiar man. Crazy Garry and sister Mary. Garry x Ib x Mary.

…

7.

...

Ib clutched onto the dark cat tightly, and he did not complain about the grip or her heavily beating heart against him as he peered at the corner of the wall, ears standing tall and erect. The feel of his surprising soft mane comforted her in her panic as she ran her fingers on his fur gently. His tail subconsciously brushed against her bare cheek.

The brunette gulped, sinking as far as she could into the wall when she heard the thing moving around, huffing and scraping itself against the floor, followed by the sound eerie sound of screeching when the frame it was attached to scratched the surface. When she felt brave enough, she leaned over the corner of the wall and sneaked a peek of the creature.

It was actually a potentially pretty woman, much to Ib's surprise. She had long, brown hair and red eyes that flickered around the room, her dark brows furrowed in anger and frustration. With each pull, her sharp, manicured nails embedded themselves into the red ground that matched her fitted shirt. Her expression, however, scared her the most. The painting woman looked murderous, as if she was going to rip apart the next thing that crossed paths with her. The brunette bit the inside of her cheek, hoping that it wouldn't be her.

"What do we do now, little guy?" The teen girl whispered to the cat. His ears flickered back to her for a moment, acknowledging her words, before perking back over the woman. His yellow eyes never left the creature's form.

'_Maybe if we create a diversion both of us could find an exit and get out of the room before she can follow us,' _Ib attempted to conjure up a plan. _'But there's no telling how fast she is. If we did that, one of us could end up not making it to the other side…'_

The brunette felt her breath lengthening as she let her reasoning take over, plotting out several escape routes and other plans. As she pondered, she brushed the back of her companion's mane with the pad of her thumb, pausing when she felt a smooth surface under all the soft fur. Ignoring his small squirms, she pulled away his dark fur to search for the object.

It was a light brown, leather collar, hidden under all the long hair on his chest. There was an inscription on one side, leaving the word open for other hair to poke through. _MIKI, _it read in neat, plain handwriting.

"Miki?" She murmured, feeling him turn fully towards her with an irate expression on his face. She gasped when he wiggled out of her arms and leaped over the corner of the small wall, in plain sight of the creature. "Wait, come back!" She pleaded desperately with him, gesturing him over to her. "It might attack us!" The incident from the beginning of her journey still traumatized her, it seemed.

Miki blatantly ignored her as he charged over to the red lady. _'NO!' _Ib cried inside of her head distraughtly, and also berating herself when she couldn't bring herself to run after him.

So she was surprised when he stopped in front of the lady and they began a strange conversation involving meowing and garbled Japanese.

When the lady spoke, Ib could hear a distinct accent and dialect in her words. It was fairly similar to Japanese, but it was so butchered and trampled that she couldn't make sense of anything. From her spot behind the small wall, she could see them engaged in a friendly yet heated discussion, the woman growling here and there with Miki butting in with a variety of sounds.

Eventually, Ib saw how the woman stuck in the frame lit up in a way that made her spine crawl. Her toothy smile definitely had lingering intentions that did not agree with Ib's instinct. The woman crawled off strangely quick to a door, the exit slamming behind her in a matter of seconds. The account of speed relieved the brunette, as she didn't go have to go through with her "diversion" plan.

Miki stayed in the same spot, sitting with his long tail curling around small thighs. When silence settled in and Ib was sure the creature wasn't returning, she slowly stood up on her feet and strolled over to him in the middle of the square room. "What the hell was that?" She asked under her breath, wondering if she was going insane from all the pressure. An invisible creature chasing her down a long corridor, and a woman stuck in a painting from the waist down with intents that were anything but good… Ib didn't want to be pessimistic and ask if she was really going to escape unscathed, but the question she was really asking herself after that occurrence was more like "when I escape, will I still be sane?"

"Meow," Miki pawed her long, black sock. The girl snapped out of her trance and brushed off any dust particles on her red skirt. She followed the black cat as it ambled over to the front of the room where a dark door enticingly presented itself to her. Miki mewled once more, clawing at the door and looking at her expectantly.

"Right," Ib murmured as she rubbed her hands together encouragingly, her golden blazer sleeves causing warm friction for her arms. "I can't mope around anymore; it's time to be serious about this."

When the brunette opened the door, Miki impatiently slipped through the crack. She followed straight afterwards, glancing around the room.

It had an unexpectedly homey feel to it, but she decided it was because she had always been such a bookworm. The room was as ruby-coated as the room outside, but it was smaller and had a quaint edge to it. Though there were no chairs, there were stacks of shelves filled with assorted books that beckoned Ib to sit and read until she was fully satisfied, which was, admittedly, never. In slight awe, she gazed at each shelf, wondering where she should start.

There was a tug at the left hem of her skirt. Miki was staring up at her admonishingly before leaping over the middle stack of bookshelves and gesturing over to the next door with his tail. "Meow!"

"Sorry, Miki," The crimson-eyed girl sauntered up to the dark animal, sighing. "I'm just getting really tired… I really feel the need to sit down and rest…"

The black cat, however, would have none of her drones. His brows furrowed and he bit on her arm.

"Itai!" Ib hissed, caressing the wound and glaring at him. "I mean it, Miki! I promise I'll be up and about soon, but I _really _need to sit down and digest all of this… especially since I'm talking to a cat as if it were a real person."

With that, she plopped down on her bottom and crossed her arms stubbornly, opting to glower at the wall rather than look at his face. Miki seemed quite miffed and offended by both her words and actions as he fumed, bristling at her back. Huffing, he stomped off into the direction they came from. With a jump, a twist of the doorknob with both of his paws, and a swing, an audible click sounded in the room as he slunk out sulkily but not before casting another glance behind him as his long tail curled under the door and quietly closed it.

Hearing the light patter getting softer, Ib hugged her blazer around her tightly, realizing that at the moment she was truly alone. Although the fear still lingered the longer she stayed in this place, she felt oddly safe in this particular room. "Finally," she murmured, leaning against the wall as she took off her long school uniform coat and wrapped it around her like a blanket. "Some peace."

She had meant to rest her eyes for a few moments before setting off to search for a Miki and finally apologize, but she had been more tired than she had initially thought. Before she could register what was happening, she had drifted off into a long sleep.

.

"_Ne, Ib, have you even heard of milk puzzles?"_

"_No," She shook her head, looking up at the man questioningly. "What are they?"_

"_They like real puzzles, but unlike normal ones, they don't have a picture, so they're harder to solve," He responded as they looked up to the white, puzzle-broken picture on display. "In a way, though, it doesn't feel as satisfying when you finish it. There's no picture at the end… just a blank space."_

_The small brunette tilted her head up at the tall man after gazing at the frame carefully, as if to store that insignificant piece of information in the back of her mind. The friendly stranger had a remorseful expression hidden in his eyes while he continued to stare at the fulfilled puzzle contemplatively. "Have you ever finished a milk puzzle?" She inquired suddenly, making his eyes flicker back to her small form, as if he forgot about her existence and the moment she spoke reminded him._

"_Eh? Well, um…" He scratched his cheek nervously when he saw the pure curiosity and expectation in her big, crimson eyes. "Yeah, I've done one before. Well, more like I started one and haven't even finished it yet. I guess knowing that nothing will come together at the end just ruined my motivation to finish it."_

_Ib wanted to say something, and she knew what she wanted to say. 'Why don't we make a picture at the end when you finish it, then?' But her mom always said to never trust strangers, even if they seemed kind at first. So, she never responded and walked past the monochrome painting with the man slowly in tow._

.

_She was trembling tremendously as they sprinted down the winding hallways, headless and bottomless creatures alike chasing after them. She tried to not let it or her fear show, gripping onto the same man's hand. _

"_Hurry, Ib!" He urged her, but she was so tired and her legs so small that his long strides had her nearly tripping every now and then. The tall man didn't notice her distress while he focused forward, rushing towards an open door._

_He slammed it behind them, continuing to run when loud pounding rattled the walls moments after. Ib continued to run with him, even when she felt something hot burn in her legs, until he slowly came to a stop, leaning on his knees._

"_I think… we're safe…" He panted out, heaving strongly. Unsure, he glanced over his shoulder and grinned in relief and satisfaction when the sounds stopped and it was quiet once more. "We sure showed them!"_

_Composing himself, he brushed off his long coat and breathed in deeply. "Well, then," He smiled, facing his young companion with encouragement. "Let's get go—Ib?!" _

_She was so tired and scared and confused… She couldn't even hear the man calling out her name desperately. She gave into the darkness that began to envelope her sight, sighing in relief when warmth embraced her whole form._

"_Ib! C'mon, stay with me! …Ib!"_

.

_She shot up, gasping. She nearly screamed out pleas as she shook when she glanced around the room, relieved when she realized that she wasn't in her nightmare once more._

"_Ah, Ib, you're awake!"_

_The young girl glanced at the familiar, friendly man walking in her direction with a smile that put her fears at ease. He knelt down to her level, and for some reason, this time she did not feel as defensive of herself as she did before. Instead, she openly welcomed him. _

"_How are you feeling?" He asked._

"…_I had a bad dream," She replied, feeling tears prickle at the corners of her eyes when she remembered how she was running, and then she was trapped in a room with creatures closing in on her from all sides…_

"_I see…" The man frowned in empathy, looking down at the floor thoughtfully. "It's to be expected, with all you went through so far…"_

_Ib played with the coat covering her body in response, seeing the ripped cloth scatter all over the place. It was huge, too, and she only fit half of its size when she had been sleeping. The black cloth had the comforting scent of roses, mints, and fire, and the smell hung around her form in a veil of protection._

"_Ne, Ib," He said suddenly, his smile back on his pale face. "Look in that coat pocket; you'll find something there for you."_

_She complied in perplexity before pulling out a small, yellow-wrapped candy that fit the center of her palm. Her eyes sparkled because she, like most kids, adored sweets. "Lemon candy?" _

"_It's yours," He offered, happy to see her grin, as rare as it was since he first met her in this hell. "Feel free to eat it whenever you want!"_

_As he stood and moved back to the bookshelves, the little girl considered whether or not to shove the candy into her mouth. While she did love her candy, somehow she felt inclined to leave it alone for now and stick by the man's side; in the last several hours, he grew on her as much as he let her know how she grew on him._

_Pocketing the candy, she politely picked up the coat, which was so large she had to fold it in half and hold it above her head so it would not drag and collect dirt from the ground, and headed towards the man who had his nose stuck in an untitled book._

.

"_Why do you talk like a lady?" She suddenly blurted out in a flippant fashion._

_He stared at her, though he didn't seem to take offense from her straightforward question. "Like a lady? …I guess I do talk like one… But, hmm…" The stranger was furrowing his eyebrows, but he was frustrated that he could not recall. "Actually, I can't quite remember. I just liked it, I suppose. After all," He smiled cheekily down at her. "It's better to sound gentle rather to sound rough, ne?"_

.

"_I'm sorry… I was just so focused on getting out of here… that I didn't really look after you. Sorry, Ib…"_

.

Her eyelids fluttered as she groaned at the bright light that pierced through her head, giving her a slight migraine. The white school blazer fell into her lap, warm from her smothering herself in it and breathing inside of it. The fresh, cool air was something the teen fully appreciated.

'_Those were some weird dreams,' _she thought to herself, frowning and leaning her head against her palm. _'They all seemed to connect, and all of them were of me when I was about ten, and a strange-looking man was in each and every one of them…'_

"Shoot," she grumbled and rubbed the sleep out of her crimson eyes. "I fell asleep… I hope Miki is fine." No, actually, now that she thought about it, the cat would be more than fine since he was able to socialize with the creature, which meant he could communicate with anything else that ran amuck in this place.

Speaking of which, she heard the door rattle. "Be right there," She called to him and he waited patiently as she went over to the other door leading forward on their journey and experimentally twisted the knob. "Locked," she muttered quietly.

_Bam. Bam. _

"I'm coming!" Ib hollered, flustered. She walked towards the door she saw the cat moseyed out of.

Wait a minute…

Couldn't he open it up himself?

Once the epiphany passed, the girl was backing up into her original corner where her blazer lay on the cold, unforgiving floor. She observed her surroundings, frantic yet careful, to find the best hiding spot. Unfortunately, the best she was able to find in the enclosed room was a small crack between two shelves she was able to hide herself snuggly in. Her heart pounded as the thing began to assault the door, mostly likely finding out that Ib wasn't coming to open the door.

_BAM BAM BAM._

Soon, she heard the door screech as it caved in and slammed into the wooden crevice of the wall. An audible hiss rang throughout the room, and from her shadowed place in the crack between the bookshelves, she could make out the forms of three women cemented in paintings dragging themselves on the floor. A painfully familiar one was glaring around the small library with narrowed eyes.

.

.

.

"She's here…" A lavender-haired man breathed, his eyes distant as his seemingly surreal wish was finally granted after so long. "She's finally here…"

"Garry," He turned to one of his small doll friends with a pleasant smile from his spot at the large table. "Some say that they have seen her in the Red Rooms, so the Ladies offered to go search for her."

The man smiled flippantly, gazing up at the light blue ceiling unconsciously. "Well, isn't that very kind of them!" He smiled at the thought; his lifelong friends getting along with his precious Ib. Soon, he hoped that all of them would talk and confide in her like they did to him, so they would live a happy life in the Abyss.

"Garry!" Another, high-pitched voice greeted him.

Garry smiled widely in return, leaning forward to set his teacup down on the matching plate. "Maddy! How are you, my little friend?"

"I'm great!" The pink-dress clad doll chirped in reply, its stitched smile stretched so far that it looked like its blue fabric was ripping. It strolled up to him, pulling at his dark pants. "Everyday is great! I love this life! I'm really glad we're friends, Garry!"

"Me, too," He chuckled, tracing the intricate fabric that covered the wooden table. "Soon you'll have another friend!"

"What's she look like, Garry?!" Maddy gushed, climbing up his pants and sitting on his lap, its beady red and yellow eyes staring up at him unblinkingly.

"She looks like a fine, young lady," The purplette grinned, his grip tightening on the handle of his teacup. "She has beautiful, flowing brown hair that falls right down the crevice of her back, big crimson eyes that glimmer and show all of her emotions, and she's so small; to me, she could be a human-sized doll like you!"

The black-haired doll cocked its head to the side instead of shouting out another excited exclamation. "That's weird, Miki said the same thing… though it sounded a lot more boring than that."

Garry suddenly frowned, a troubled look on his face. "Miki?"

He glanced at the empty seat at his right, two chairs down. It was always empty; it's been that way since seven years ago. For some reason, the sneaky feline hated him from the first day he tried to accept his wonderful fate of living in a world filled with many friends. He never showed up for tea parties, dances, or anything else Garry and his friends planned. And whenever the eighteen year old caught a glimpse of the black cat from afar and shouted a greeting, Miki would either sneer at him or completely ignore his call before bounding away from the heart of the Abyss.

Often, it depressed him. But his friends all cheered him up, saying that the cat always preferred to be alone and barely talked to anyone. He did, however, warm up to others randomly, so most felt like it was a blessing to hear the cat's words. Despite his preference to solitude, many of the inhabitants of the Abyss treated him like a member of the big, happy family.

Garry had made it his goal to win over the heart of Miki, so that each and every one of the inhabitants, other than the Wilds, was his friend.

"Yeah!" Maddy proclaimed, its eyes wide. "He came up to me a few minutes ago and asked where the Ladies were and asked if he saw a girl like that!"

Miki saw Ib? Garry flew out of his chair and Maddy had the sense to jump onto the table when the doll felt tension coil in his tall friend's legs.

"Where are they now?" He asked curtly, his voice darkening immensely. The other dolls and paintings at the table glanced at him worriedly, concerned for him and his friend.

"Still in the Red Rooms, I think," Maddy frowned, scratching its head when his friend ran out of the Banquet Hall in a hurry.

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"She's around here somewhere, I know it," Ib bit back a gasp when the garbled speech suddenly came out as clear as day for her. How was that possible? She was sure that when she first heard the lady speak that it was because she was talking gibberish and not because she was too far. Something had changed.

"I don't know about this, Michelle," A new, blue one frowned behind her, expressing her doubt. "It sounded like Garry really liked this girl; he would be pissed if he found out you hurt her."

The red-clad woman, Michelle, scoffed, peering at her friend whilst propping her head on her palms with her elbows on the floor. "Do you really think he's going to find out, Diane?" She smirked maliciously, and suddenly for Ib all the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. "He's waiting over at the Toybox and thinks that we're going to go fetch her. What he doesn't know what hurt him, or us, for that matter. Besides, what happened to your feelings for him? What about all those times when were all talked together about how much we liked him? Do you not like him anymore?"

Diane hesitated before answering slowly. "I still like him!"

"Then you shouldn't feel so guilty about it," Ib chanced a peek, seeing part of another form, this time in green. "Besides, it's not like we're going to _kill _the girl… We're just going to give her a friendly… _warning._"

"But what if he does find out?" The blue girl probed worriedly. "I don't want him to hate us!"

"He won't hate us, per say… You remember what happened to Sammy, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Well, then we'll just say Sammy and her friends did it!" Michelle clapped her hands together. "Problem solved!"

Diane, the voice of doubt and reason, looked like she wanted to say more but decided not to when she saw how both of her friends turned to each other, whispering heatedly to one another. "Then what do we do?"

The two of them, fuschia and forest green, elicited an ear-splitting grin. "First, we find her. Then… we _warn _her."

Ib attempted to sink as far as she could to the wall, feeling suffocated from the conversation she had, somehow, overhead and the shelves that felt like were caving in. Somehow, Ib just knew that the three ladies—monsters, creatures, whatever—were talking about her and that if she was found out, there would be a heavy price to pay. She had to escape.

The long-haired girl held in her breath when one of the ladies crawled past her, just a few inches in front of her, their green eyes set in front of them. But how would she escape when there were three of them and only one of her? That meant… her best bet was to wait it all out and hope they would leave.

"Hey!" One of them called to the other two. "Look what I found!"

Ib was about to make a run for it when her heart dropped. _'My uniform!'_

"I found a flower!" The red-eyed woman continued, grinning evilly at her two companions. "Do you remember our favorite game?"

The brunette could do nothing but look at the floor almost pleadingly as they never noticed her cowering presence.

"_Loves me," _they sang.

Ib gasped at the sharp pain that burst in her chest, holding a clenched fist to her heart. _'Please, no…'_

"_Loves me not…" _

The next petal that fell to the ground made Ib's arm burn as if on fire, and when the brunette glanced down, she saw a deep gash on her elbow. She held herself tightly as the metallic liquid began to flow onto the floor, staining the already red carpet with a more sinister fluid.

"_Loves me…"_

She held back a scream when an invisible knife sliced down her left shoulder, the cut curving towards her collarbone. The blood seemed through the spaces between her fingers.

"_Loves me not…"_

By this point, Ib was convulsing against her palm, with four petals left on her battered rose. Gagging at the strong smell of iron, she began to double over when a new pain erupted on her stomach. Her hands trembled violently as she accidently smeared blood over her once flawless, pale skin as if she were an artist brushing an excess amount of paint on a once empty canvas.

"_Loves me…"_

'_What's happening?' _A delirium was overtaking her mind as she lost control of her body and dived straight into excruciating pain. Her vision began to blur while she held out her nearly black arms out in front of her, wondering how much blood a human body held, falling over onto her forehead.

"_Loves me not!"_

"AHHHHH!" This time, Ib could not hold back the scream. It was too painful, too much! Her right temple was pounding as her blood burst out, probably hitting some sort of blood artery. It reminded her of graffiti paint as it flew up into the air like an estranged mess. "NO MORE, PLEASE STOP! PLEASE! IT HURTS!"

Her whole body was on fire as it quivered constantly against her will, feeling cooler when she literally felt ounce upon ounce seep out of her body onto the floor. Her perpetrators were silent, but when they spoke a high-pitching ringing sound covered up their speech. At least there was no more pain, Ib sighed in bitter relief as she faced the ground. At least there was no more pain…

Two smiling faces peered down at her, and through all the noise she could make out their words. "Found you~"

The other, which one the teen couldn't remember, was shouting frantically on the top of her lungs, and the view of the ladies' faces were replaced by an empty ceiling.

Then, her body when horribly numb, and she could tell by the way something rolled her onto her side and held her, desperately shaking her form. Someone was calling her name, once, twice, thrice…

'_I'm so… tired…' _Ib thought to herself, letting her head limply hang.

"_Ib, Ib, stay with me! IB!"_

And then, she heard a hiss, a yelp, and she fell into a peaceful silence.

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"Where are we looking first, leader?" Koudai grinned down at the blonde girl who began to fume in front of her house.

"How can you be so happy at a time like this?!" Mary screeched at him, stomping her feet impatiently. Her sister, his _best friend, _was out who knows where, and he still smiles as goofily as he does?!

The spiky-haired boy's smile fell off of his face, as if his smile never meant anything in the first place. "I'm not happy, Mary. Don't think you're the only one who's freaking out about this whole fucking mess. I was trying to lighten the mood."

The girl gaped at his stoic expression and slightly harsh words. Nonetheless, she swallowed down her insults and begrudgingly apologized, the words of the visitor from school still echoing in her mind, "Sorry… I'm just high-strung from all the things that are happening…"

Koudai smiled sympathetically at her, patting her lightly on the top of her head to give her comfort. "It's okay, I am too. Sorry if I'm not myself." And then he pulled back his hand swiftly before she could swat it away again.

"Yeah," Mary said slowly, testing the waters. "You weren't cracking lame jokes, so I was actually worried about you for a second."

"Wha—hey! Can you be nice for once at least?"

They were at the foot of her house, with Mary wearing her dark green raincoat and Koudai sporting a light grey jacket, his frosty hands stuffed inside his pockets. The sky was dark and melancholy, as if to reflect their mood, and a few droplets of rain began to fall from the sky. The girl flinched, bringing her coat closer to her body, her breath coming out in a white puff.

"You sure you're warm enough?" The dirty blonde inquired. "That coat looks thin… You could take my jacket—"

"No, no thanks," Mary waved off his offer as they descended the stone stairs of her home—her and Ib's home. "What would that leave you with? I'd rather not have you catch a cold…"

The blue-eyed beauty suddenly stammered and paused in her speech. _'When did I start acting so nice to him?!'_

"That's…" Mary bristled and glared at him while he stared forward, shocked. She was prepared to make a clever comment back at him for his remarks. "That's very caring and thoughtful of you, Mary… Thank you."

The younger girl blinked owlishly at the boy, whose light grey eyes looked down upon her warmly. There was another emotion present in those eyes, something she couldn't place her finger on, and something she felt like she didn't want to discover. Uncomfortable, she glanced down at the cement floor as they ambled over to the heart of the city. "Yeah, of course, whatever," she grumbled, flustered, and Koudai laughed wholeheartedly at her reaction… which resulted in a painful elbow jab from the girl.

"Ow, ow, ow, I get it," He still laughed, stroking his side gently. "No more…"

His grin widened when he saw how the corners of her lips twitch upwards, but he tried to hide the smile from the already embarrassed and angry girl. _'I'm getting to her… She's warming up to me.'_

She caught his stares and snapped up at him. "What?"

"You holding up well?" Koudai asked carefully, looking for any signs that might indicate any hidden feelings. He had always been telling her his own thoughts and feelings… It was about time he asked about hers.

The blonde's jaw snapped shut firmly, and the moment was lost when her blue eyes shot fire at his form. "Yes, I'm fine, you fool."

Typical Mary, thought Koudai, inwardly sighing. Always feeling the need to hide any sign of weakness, even if emotions weren't technically weaknesses. _'Well, it was fun while it lasted…'_

"Well, anyway, you didn't answer my question," He continued, stopping with another mass of people with umbrellas and coats at the stoplight. "Where are we going to search first?"

"Her workplace."

"The office?" Koudai frowned, wondering why Mary would choose to search there first. "Wouldn't her boss just call her if she was there and never came back home?"

Mary sighed through her nose, walking in front of him as he tried to catch up to her in the crowd. "It's much more complicated than that, Koudai…"

'_That… that was the first time she called me by my actual name…' _The spiky-haired blonde gazed at her in genuine concern, feeling the urge to discover what was running through her head. Whatever was going on, it bothered Mary to the point where she replaced her fiery front with a cold but worried composure. She was starting to crack…

"C'mon," The girl gestured to him as the towering building's door opened automatically for them, welcoming the visitors. "We have no time to waste."

"Right…" Koudai slowly entered the building behind her, biting his bottom lip as he mulled over her words.

'_It's much more complicated than that, Koudai…'_

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MY FOOT. D: IT'S ASLEEP.

And Garry comes in! Expect some Garry x Ib interaction in the next chapter (whenever I write that). Then, after a few chapters, things heat up… ;) But maybe in expected and unexpected ways.

And yes, all the weird things going on (why Garry is still eighteen, why Ib can hear the Abyss inhabitants' voices) will all be explained soon, IN THE STORY. Lol.

I'll keep this short since I need to shower and go to bed ASAP.

Anyway, check out my deviantart account for a few drawings for this story! My account is SwiftWolfgirl44, and so far I drew Miki. Maybe later on in my free time at school I'll draw either Mary or Ib or Garry or Koudai… whichever appeals to me at that time.

Chances are, I won't be uploading for a month at the most. Be prepared for irregular updates.

And damn, did some of you guys think the last chapter was boring? XD I didn't get that much of a response like the other chapters I got; maybe something to do with OCs…

I will thank, however, those who reviewed the last chapter and gave me their honest opinion about certain things, because I felt like I grew a little bit more with their words. That and all the alerts kept reminding me to write the next chapter.

Anyway, see you guys… Whenever. lol.

_~CiiCiinREX._


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